The Sitges Convention Bureau (Sitges CB), a programme of the Tourism Council of the Sitges City Council specialised in the congress and meetings segment, held its annual assembly on 6th November at the Sunway Sitges hotel.
The Assembly is Sitges CB’s annual gathering of members, creating new opportunities for collaboration and synergies among associated companies. Throughout the day, a summary of the actions taken to fulfil the objectives of the 2023 and 2024 Action Plan was showcased, next to the unveiling of the 2025 business strategy. The day served as a useful tool to highlight promotional initiatives planned for November and December 2024 and 2025, aimed at attracting congresses, meetings, conventions, and incentive trips to Sitges.
The Sitges CB Action Plan for November and December 2024 and 2025 includes over 30 initiatives, such as attendance at workshops and professional fairs as well as familiarisation trips which make the destination known to event organisers. A particular highlight includes the Break the Ice Forum workshop that will be held in Sitges, jointly with the Calipolis hotel, from 25th to 27th March 2025, and Sitges CB’s 20th birthday celebration. Concerning the field of communication, new digital marketing campaigns will be launched. Over 40 representatives from leading MICE-focused companies and members of the Sitges CB took part in the Assembly.
The Assembly also provided an opportunity to review the actions undertaken during 2023 and from January to October 2024, the main priority being to continue supporting the associates with the recruitment of professional meetings in Sitges, for instance, the annual gatherings of the Iberian and France-Benelux chapters of ICCA and the Catalonia Business Meetings targeting the French market. This also included collaborating on fam trips and press trips, as well as providing financial and logistical support. During 2023 and up to October 2024, a total of 457 professionals arrived at the destination.
The strategy of setting up alliances with professional associations such as the EMA (Event Managers Association) continues and particular recognition is given to Maria Sanchez-Quintana, Head of Sitges CB, for receiving the “Best Destination Promotion” prize at the MPI Iberian Awards, acknowledging the promotion of a destination as a place that receives MICE tourism with a solid strategy, in a creative and differential way, with passion and dedication and that achieves good results for the destination. An award given on the year of Sitges CB’s 20th birthday.
During 2023 and up to October 2024, Sitges CB has been present in 39 workshops in local markets, therefore strengthening the national and European market, as well as expanding into more distant regions such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. We have also continued working on actions in order to share knowledge and have taken part in several sector round tables.
The significant rise in requests to host MICE events in Sitges up to October 2024 is also worth noting. Moreover, compared to 2022, there was a 45% increase in requests to hold conferences in Sitges in 2023, while conventions had a 17% rise. These requests go hand in hand with longer stays and greater participation, between 100 and 2000 participants. In total, 128 requests from this segment were processed for 2023, 78 for 2024, 28 for 2025, and 3 each for 2026 and 2027.
Improvement in communication through digital marketing, the presence on social media, new content and www.sitgescb.cat website updates as well as new promotional material have been other media actions carried out by the Sitges Convention Bureau.
The meeting was attended by the institutional presence of the Mayor of Sitges, Aurora Carbonell, as well as the new Councillor for Tourism and Civil Rights, Xavi Ripoll, who welcomed the attendees, highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration and reaffirming the City Council’s support for meeting tourism. The assembly’s closure was made by the second vice president of the Sitges Hospitality Guild and director of Meliá Sitges, Sergi Uriol, the Mayor and the Councillor, expressing gratitude for these twenty years of work and stressing the need to further strengthen ties between the institutions and local businesses.
