The economic climate in Europe may not have exactly improved considerably vis-à-vis other global pockets. But Germany, the leading economic giant of the continent continues to strengthen its position as the key magnet of business activities. 
The German Convention Bureau (GCB) which represents and markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both on a national and international scale has now come out with a study which examines the trends in the German MICE market in 2014.
According to the report, the country had quite a busy year in terms of hosting of conferences and congresses which resulted in an enhancement of a modest 5 percent in business trips from other European countries (see the grahic). In precise volume terms, the number of European business travellers to Germany in 2014 stood at 12.4 million. Out of this staggering volume, about 56 percent of the business travellers came to attend trade fairs, meetings, incentives, and conferences. Interestingly, while the trade fairs saw a marginal decline in attracting visitors from other European countries, the jump in the conference and congress segment adequately compensated to sustain the business travellers number. “In 2014, there were 6.9 million business trips to trade fairs, meetings, incentives, conferences and events – this represents a 56 percent share of the market and also a slight increase (1%) from the previous year. There was also an increase of 5% in the amount of business travel to conferences and events – with 3.7 million trips in 2014. In this way, business trips to conferences and congresses offset the 3% decrease in the trade fairs and exhibitions sector. Due to the downturn in traditional business trips (also 3%), business trips from Europe to Germany decreased by 1% overall in 2014.” Petra Hedorfer, Chair of the Executive Board of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), explained past year’s trends in these words.
The officials of the German Convention Buerau are quite encouraged with the findings of the report which highlights that the appeal of the country to draw business travellers remains intact. As per a data furnished by the agency, despite the global financial crisis of the last decade which is believed to have hit the European countries more severely than any other region in the world, Germany has consistently consolidated its appeal as a leading global hub for MICE business in last six years. In 2009, the country had attracted 2.3 million business travellers from Europe who had visited the country to attend conferences and other business events and this number shot up to 3.7 million last year. According to Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the German Convention Bureau, “There are several reasons behind these encouraging figures. Germany offers excellent infrastructure and good value for money, both important criteria for event planners. It also offers several areas of expertise which organisers can work with for events which cover related industries. Several German cities and regions lead in the areas of business and science, and the country is a leading centre in the field of sustainability and innovation.”
In the global MICE market, Germany is considered as the traditional powerhouse and has consistently figured in the top three market list (ranked at number two with the US being the leader). According to a ranking by International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) which figures the most attractive MICE cities in the world, the German capital Berlin has been positioned at 4th slot. Apart from this, other important German cities like Munich, Hamburg, Dresden ad Leipzig figure in the list of top 100 event destinations in the world.
