In January and February, more than 20,000 attendees at conferences and exhibitions will be staying in Palma hotels. At the Palacio de Congresos, there will be a major conference for the financial software industry in January, while a Mercedes exhibition will start on January 23. These combined will generate around 21,000 hotel stays. In addition, there will be some 5,000 people attending other events being held at different venues.
Ramón Vidal, the Palacio CEO, says that indications are that the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) sector in Mallorca is "on the right track to achieve full recovery" and even better the situation which existed prior to the pandemic.
At last week's IBTM international fair for the sector, which took place in Barcelona, forecasts for Mallorca were very positive, the island now a leading Spanish destination for events. The Council of Mallorca and the Mallorca Convention Bureau say that this is thanks to "enviable air connectivity, service infrastructure and security".
Hoteliers, transport operators and the CAEB restaurants association all highlight the positive impact of this business tourism in terms of addressing seasonality and spending.
The Council of Mallorca's tourism councillor, Andreu Serra, points to the Palacio de Congresos "having become the engine of a sector with high added value for Palma and the rest of the island".
The MICE sector is important in tackling seasonality, and forecasts suggest that it will be of growing importance over the coming years.
He notes that Mallorca used to be off the circuit for large international events, but now that there are the facilities - the Palacio most obviously - "we have positioned ourselves worldwide and are already ahead of other destinations in Spain".