INTERVIEW WITH JAUME BOLTÀ, NEW PRESIDENT OF THE OPC CATALONIA
On the 27 September the newspaper Expansión published an interview with Jaume Boltà, who has recently been named new president of the OPC Catalonia (Catalan Association of Organising Companies of Congresses and Meetings). In his answers, Boltà speaks of the impact of the crisis on the attendance of medical congresses, of the difficulties experienced by medium size events, of the technological innovations applied to congresses and the hotel moratorium of Barcelona, among other matters of great interest. We recommend you read the interview, which you can consult on this link.
DEDUCTING VAT IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR FOREIGN CONGRESS DELEGATES
International delegates to a congress try, as much as possible, to reduce their expenditure and, therefore, those destinations that offer tax benefits become the most competitive. In this sense we should consider that, since 2015, foreign companies, entities or professionals (including those from outside the European Union) can recover the VAT paid in Spain during their participation in a professional event. These deductions are applied when there is a B2B transaction that involves a “service of complex organisation”. That is, the regulation includes the majority of congresses that require hotels, transfers, meeting rooms and restaurants. Therefore, it is a factor to take into account by the MICE tourism sector.
Upcoming leading congresses in Catalonia:
– Fòrum Gastronòmic 2016 (Barcelona, 23-26 October): Wine and food event with workshops and exhibitions of live cooking by leading chefs.
– IoT Solutions World Congress 2016 (Barcelona, 25-27 October): Global congress focused on the “Internet of things” industry from different perspectives.
– 1st Congreso Catalán de Pobreza Energética (Sabadell, 3-4 November): New reference event to face up to the challenges of energy poverty.
– 3rd Congreso de la Profesión Médica de Cataluña (Girona, 10 November): Meeting point of Catalan doctors to deal with questions that concern the group.
– Smart City Expo World Congress (Barcelona, 15-17 November): International summit focused on the relation between urban reality and technological revolution.
– Ibtm World 2016 (Barcelona, 29 November – 1 December): leading event to discover the tendencies and the current state of congress and meetings tourism.
New spaces for events:
Espai Mas Marroch of the Roca brothers, in Vilablareix (Girona)
The brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca have set up a modular space that offers several atmospheres in the heart of nature to hold events. Among the most outstanding rooms of this country house features The Àgora, an eco-sustainable gazebo structure open to creative and singular events. (More information)
“Ferrari Land” theme park in PortAventura (Tarragona)
On the 7 April 2017 PortAventura World opens Ferrari Land, an automobile theme park of 60,000 m². From now on, the events held in the Convention centre of PortAventura will have a special attraction for congress delegates who are fans of adrenaline, who will be able to enjoy the attractions. (More information)
THE AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME, IN EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA
Rafel Peris, who until a few days ago was the president of the OPC, the Catalan Association of Organising Companies of Congresses and Meetings (Jaume Boltà has been named the new president this same July), published an interesting article in El Periódico de Catalunya, in which he wrote about the task of the Ambassadors Programme. In the words of Peris, “there is still a long way to go, but from OPC Catalonia we are convinced of the capacity of the ambassadors to make internationally visible the diversity of attractions and theme areas of Catalonia. Catalonia can legitimately aspire to become a world reference in MICE tourism”.
THE FUTURE OF THE SECTOR? WE SPEAK ABOUT THE 2ND FORUM OF MEETING TOURISM
The second Forum of Meeting Tourism of Catalonia was held in the Congress Palace of Catalonia and was a valuable meeting point to find out about the situation in which a sector in full transformation finds itself. Innovation, in fact, was central in many of the talks and in the very functioning of the dynamic and transversal event, which laid great emphasis on new technologies. A good example of this can be found in the digital drawings of Maria Calvet, which enabled them to illustrate and synthesise live the central ideas of some of the most outstanding talks of the Forum.
After an inauguration at the hand of the chef Josep Roca, who highlighted the role of gastronomy as a vector that enables a tourist destination to be singularised, speakers included Mike Van der Vijver, Patrick Delaney, Xavier Ferràs, Clara Soler, Rafel Peris and Julien Le Bas, who offered multiple perspectives to the attendees about the state of congress and meeting tourism. Below you can download some presentations of the speakers at the Forum and a video that sums up the essence of this event organised by the Catalunya Convention Bureau:
Talk by Rafel Peris: “Needs and tendencies of the associative sector”
Talk by Julien Le Bas: “Designing winning proposals”
Talk by Clara Soler: “Social Media for meeting tourism”
Video-summary of the 2nd Forum of Meeting Tourism of Catalonia
HOW WILL BREXIT AFFECT CONGRESS TOURISM?
It is still difficult to evaluate the consequences of the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, but the analyst Namik Immelback is convinced that Brexit will also affect MICE tourism, since it may damage British destinations (such as London) to the benefit of other North American or European cities. His declarations can be found in an article published in Micexchange.com.
MEETOVATION: INNOVATION AND RETURN OF CONGRESSES IN DENMARK
This May Denmark has relaunched its Meetovation programme, which began in 2002 to transform and modernise the congresses held in the country. The new stage, which includes a manifesto and a promotonial video, is focused on five key elements to ensure that an event fulfils the expectations of organisers and attendees: social responsibility, active involvement of the congress delegates, full use of the singularities of the city in which the event is held, the economic return (ROI) and the creative spaces for the meetings. The example of Denmark (with a referent city such as Copenhagen) is very inspiring.
For more information, we recommend you visit the Meetovation website.
Ibtm World 2015, with prize for Catalunya Convention Bureau
From the 17-19 November, the Gran Vía Trade Fair Centre of Barcelona hosted a new edition of Ibtm World, the appointment par excellence of the business travel, congress, meeting and incentives industry. During the three days in which the event was held, which had 3,000 exhibitors from 150 countries and with 15,500 visitors, the latest in destinations and specialised services in the organisation of professional events were presented. In the setting of the fair, the Ibtm 2015 prizes were awarded, which recognised the stand of Catalunya Convention Bureau as the best in the category of Characteristics and attractions. Sònia Serracarbassa, director of the Catalunya Convention Bureau (CCB), collected the prize.
New presentation of the Ambassadors Programme in the province of Barcelona
On the 25 November the Ambassadors Proghramme was presented to sectorial references from the province of Barcelona. The attendees were informed of the programme by Xavier Espasa, managing director of the Catalan Tourism Agency, and Sònia Serracarbassa, director of the Catalunya Convention Bureau (CCB).
