Spanish and Portuguese MICE Tourists' Profile

Abstract

Professional and academic congresses play a relevant role on what came to be known as meetings tourism or business tourism. This market has grown significantly in the last years and is expected to maintain, or even increase, such growth rates in the short range. Moreover, congress tourists consume complementary activities, as well as accommodations services, within the destination, which make them a very profitable segment. For these reasons, many cities are including this market in their promotional strategies. To illustrate this scenario, the chapter presents an analysis of Portuguese and Spanish congress tourists' profile. Results corroborate that congress attendees do some sightseeing, visit local cultural attractions, and taste local cuisine while in the destination. In other words, their consumption goes beyond the participation in the congress per se, and consequently, their average daily expenditure is significantly higher than that of the average tourist.