Meetings industry in Europe - statistics & facts
The meetings industry in Europe is an important connector to B2B operations, including business trips dedicated to attending meetings, trade exhibitions, and conferences. Such events allow international and European business representatives to meet, discuss business developments, expand client bases, and form networks. In 2019, visitor spending in the European convention industry alone reached over 90 billion euros, though this figure dropped significantly to 18 billion euros in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior to the health crisis, Germany was the most popular country in Europe for international meetings, followed by France and Spain. In 2020, as the meetings industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of events and participants faced startling declines. For instance, the number of events in Germany fell by roughly two million, and the number of participants dropped from over 420 million prior to the health crisis to 60 million in 2020.
