THE ARCHIVE

These kinds of recent successes mean that the Fira might not stand to lose as much as was previously expected for 2009. In fact, 15 conferences for the rest of 2009 have been announced, with two brand new and significant events being added to the calendar: the International Carbon Expo held this month and HIT, a new world innovation summit taking place in June. With a view to the unpredictable economic outlook, Agustín Cordón, speaking at an annual meeting in December, unveiled an expansion strategy for the Fira, and predicted only a 1.8 percent drop in profits compared to 2007. He also said that pre-tax earnings would stand at €19.1 million, re-emphasising that Fira and the money it makes for Barcelona remain a considerable driving force in the overall economy, one that should not be allowed to falter.

With around 2,000 new hotel rooms to be made available in the coming 12 months, bringing the total to around 30,000 citywide, the promotion of business tourism is essential to Barcelona’s economy and international profile in a highly competitive market. The hope is that even if the pleasure tourists struggle to afford those mini-breaks and stag weekends, international business meetings and high-profile trade fairs will continue coming to Barcelona. They may not be the crowds of leisure tourists that swarm around the tourist sights all year, but as they move from conference hall to business meeting they are leaving behind money that is no less vital to the city’s bank balance.

One point of view:

David Lanigan is the Managing Director of Icon Events International, which specialises in organising conferences and seminars for executives from companies such as Microsoft, Shell and Nokia. He said the events industry has been hit hard by the economic crisis, as many large client companies have imposed international travel restrictions and budget cuts. “We have survived and are doing well by taking a modern, fresh look at how companies are doing business. That involves branching out from old-fashioned business conferences and looking at new topics, involving new forms of Internet and mobile media. The market became saturated over the last few years. It's not impossible, it's just much tougher.”

First published May 2009.