Congresses
The congress industry is the generic term for all subsegments and all service providers who deal with congresses. This includes u. a. the planning, implementation and follow-up of a congress.
Congresses are part of the MICE sector (meetings, incentives, conventions, events) in the tourism industry .
Components of congresses
A congress is a gathering of over 250 participants that lasts longer than a day. Congresses are characterized by the fact that they take place at different intervals, annually or every 2-3 years, and at different locations. The participants are therefore mostly unfamiliar.
The aim of a congress is the scientific and technical exchange of information on a predetermined topic. A congress usually consists of several event parts such as E.g .: plenary; Workshops, seminars, exhibitions, supporting program, etc.
At a congress one differentiates between national and international congresses. An international congress is when at least three other nations in addition to the host nation participate in the congress. The share in other nations must be at least 20 percent. All events that do not meet these criteria are designated as national.
Organizations
- International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) - world association for congresses and meetings
Importance and extent of the congress system
Germany
Over 2.6 million events (congresses, meetings , events ) take place in Germany every year. The study International Association Meetings Market 2006 by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) proves that Germany was able to maintain the top position in an international comparison for the third time in a row . Germany occupies first place in Europe and in a global comparison Germany was able to further improve its position as one of the leading destinations for meetings, incentives, congresses and events and ranks second after the USA.
The European Institute for Conference Industry GmbH (EITW) commissioned the German National Tourist Board for the three largest industry representatives . V. (DZT), the GCB German Convention Bureau e. V. and the European Association of Event Centers EVVC have created a "Meeting and Event Barometer" for the German conference and event market, in which the trends and developments in the industry are visible.
The “Meeting and EventBarometer 2008” registers a total of 2.8 million congresses, meetings, presentations, exhibitions and events in Germany with 314 million participants. The German conference and event market is spread over 6,200 event venues (minimum seating capacity 100 people with row seating in the largest hall): around half of them in conference hotels and a quarter each in convention centers and event locations. 66,000 full-time employees work in the event and banquet area of event centers, conference hotels and event locations.
At the same time, TNS / Infratest, on behalf of the GCB German Convention Bureau e. V. and the German National Tourist Board (DZT) carried out a population-representative basic study on business tourism in 2006, with which the entire significance of the business travel segment for tourism in Germany is presented in detail.
The study commissioned by the DZT and GCB showed that of the total of around 88.5 million overnight business trips from Germany, 81 percent remained in Germany. These 71.5 million trips generated sales of 38.5 billion euros. On average, each domestic business trip with an overnight stay came to an amount of 538 euros, the highest was the training trips at 842 euros. This means that every resident in Germany undertakes on average at least one business trip per year with an overnight stay and around another seven day business trips. Visits to congresses and events have the highest share of overnight business trips in Germany at 42 percent. Customer visits follow in second place with 31 percent, trade fairs and exhibitions account for 14 percent. Almost half (49 percent) of trips to congresses and events are used for further training, congresses, meetings and conferences make up 33 percent, events eleven percent.
Austria
The industry is becoming increasingly important in tourism in Austria . It is assumed that today every 9th city tourist is a conference guest, and a total of 30 to 35% of all overnight stays in the city are business-related. But conference tourism is also gaining in importance in rural areas, both in traditional tourist regions and in tourist development areas. According to the latest studies, more than 2% of all overnight stays are those of the conference sector. In addition, the conference system complements the strong seasonal orientation of Austrian tourism, as its main seasons are the classic off-season in spring and autumn.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: press release with first results of the study (PDF)