MEET Catalunya

Introduction

Lloret de Mar hosts MEET Catalonia, the leading international tourism workshop of the MICE industry, organised by the Catalonia Convention Bureau 

Content

On 14 June 2017, the director of the Catalan Tourist Board (ACT), Xavier Espasa, and the mayor of Lloret de Mar, Jaume Dulsat, inaugurated the second edition of “Meet Catalunya”, a leading MICE workshop organised by the Catalonia Convention Bureau (CCB), a day-long event which took place on 15 June at the Costa Brava Conference Centre in Lloret de Mar. The official welcome ceremony took place at Santa Clotilde Gardens, where participants took part in a daiquiri workshop, listened to speeches by institutional representatives and enjoyed a dinner with amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea.

More than 1,700 commercial appointments were made during the workshop between 92 Catalan companies in the MICE industry and 80 hosted buyers from 19 different countries (Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, the USA and the UK).

The director of the Catalan Tourist Board, Xavier Espasa, said that “Meet Catalonia is one of the most important events of the year, especially in terms of MICE tourism, a key segment that attracts high-quality tourism and at the same time helps to spread out tourism over the seasons.”

Meanwhile, the mayor of Lloret de Mar, Jaume Dulsat, stated that “Lloret de Mar has an important public-private offering specialised in MICE tourism, which is promoted through the Lloret Convention Bureau, and which has enabled us to attract and retain multinational companies such as Audi, Orange France, AMGEN, SANOFI, IKEA, Desigual or OKQ8.”

The “Meet Catalunya” event was organised by the Catalan Tourist Board through the Catalonia Convention Bureau, in partnership with the Lloret Convention Bureau. The Tourist Board of Lleida Provincial Council, the Costa Brava Girona Convention Bureau, the Girona City Convention Bureau, the Costa Daurada Convention Bureau, the Tarragona Convention Bureau, the Barcelona Convention Bureau, the Sitges Convention Bureau and the Garrotxa Tourist Board also took part.

Programmes of the two fam trips in which the Lloret Convention Bureau took part:

Following the workshop and the B2B meetings, held from 15 to 17 June, the participating hosted buyers were given the chance to discover the Catalan business tourism offering in situ through various fam trips.

As such, operators were split into groups to participate in the six familiarisation trips organised by the Catalan Tourist Board, two of which included Lloret de Mar: a route comprising Lloret, Barcelona and Sitges, which included relaxation and spa activities at the Institut Gem, tapas at the Romaní Restaurant, outdoor activities such as kayaking and Nordic walking, and accommodation at the Evenia Olympic Palace Hotel; and a second fam trip focused more on the Indiano legacy of Lloret de Mar, including accommodation at the Hotel Anabel, a tour and a jazz concert at the Indiano-themed Hotel Delamar, a guided tour of the town’s Indiano heritage, featuring the recently opened Can Font House-Museum, and lunch at the Sant Pere del Bosc restaurant, which is also an Indiano heritage site. The cultural part of the fam trip was complemented by outdoor activities such as golf.

• FT MEET Catalonia Lloret de Mar / La Roca Village / Circuit de Catalunya / Sitges

This fam trip was attended by 15 MICE operators plus a member of the CPT of Russia and a member of the CPT of New York, and the planned programme was as follows:

Thursday 15 June (after workshop)

18:00 Relaxation and Spa – a sensory experience offered by Lloret Viu – Institut GEM

20:00 Tapas dinner at El Romaní

22:00 Accommodation at the Evenia Olympic Palace

Friday 16 June

09:00 Tour of the Evenia Olympic Palace Hotel + Olympic Congress Centre

10:00 Outdoor activity: Nordic Walking, Kayak Adventure Catalonia

12:30 Transfer to La Roca Village

• FT MEET Catalonia OGL Meetings

This fam trip was attended by 14 MICE operators and a representative of the CPT of Paris. The programme comprised the following:

Friday 16 June

21:00 Cava drinks reception, visit and accommodation at Hotel Anabel

21:30 – 22:00 Dinner + Jazz at Hotel Delamar

Saturday 17 June

10:00 Outdoor activity: Golf Lloret

12:00 Visit to the Americano Fair + Can Font

13:30 Visit + lunch at Sant Pere del Bosc Gourmet Restaurant

16:00 Transfer from Lloret de Mar to Barcelona

The result

The action was evaluated very positively by all parties:

MEET Catalonia has become an excellent promotional action to familiarise international agencies with Catalonia as a leading MICE destination. It’s important to bring the customers to the area in order to show them in person the superb options we offer to the MICE industry. It has been a great opportunity to bring 80 international buyers to our destination. For Lloret de Mar in particular, it has been a wonderful chance to present the destination’s great potential and specialised offering, not only to international operators but also to the Catalan business community.

The two fam trips gave the Lloret Convention Bureau the opportunity to show the offering of some of its members. More than 21 operators experienced in situ the specialised MICE offering of our destination.

It’s important to highlight that the members of the LCB make a cohesive team that strives to present a unified, specialised and competitive image of the product and destination.

The Catalonia Convention Bureau has been evaluated very positively, achieving a score of more than 4 out of 5 among Catalan businessmen, operators and the various participating convention bureaux.