This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the business and events tourism (MICE) industry in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, with the aim of understanding its economic weight, recent developments and future prospects. Based on a combination of quantitative sources (official statistics, employment records and sector studies) and qualitative sources (interviews with key agents), the document describes a highly strategic sector, characterised by high spending per visitor, a strong capacity to generate economic value and a close interconnection with other activities such as hospitality, catering and transport. The report highlights Barcelona’s central role as an international hub, consolidated within the global top MICE destinations, and underlines key trends such as digitalisation, sustainability and the hybridisation of events.
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In parallel, the study focuses on the labor market and the structural challenges of the sector, especially the lack of qualified professionals and the absence of its own regulatory framework that integrates the diversity of activities that make up it. The analysis of employment and the business fabric shows sustained growth until the pandemic, a sharp drop in 2020 and a subsequent recovery that places the sector at historic highs in terms of employment, although still with a number of companies lower than the pre-pandemic. Finally, the document proposes lines of action aimed at strengthening professional training, improving coordination between actors and consolidating the sector as an economic and innovation engine, highlighting the need to adapt the training offer to the new digital and organizational demands of MICE.