MICE market: More participants, fewer events
Germany is asserting itself as the number one in the MICE segment. Participants are growing significantly, internationalization is increasing, and events are becoming fewer but larger.
According to the Meeting and Event Barometer 2024/2025, all signs point to growth, and the industry is approaching the record figures of 2019. According to an analysis conducted by IPK International on behalf of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) and the German Convention Bureau (GCB), the number of international business trips from Europe to Germany increased by 7.7 percent year-on-year, from 11.1 million to 11.9 million. Worldwide, the business travel segment grew by 8.1 percent to 14.65 million trips to Germany. In Europe, Germany will remain by far the number one business travel destination for Europeans in 2024. One in five trips from Europe to Germany was a business trip in 2024. This means that business trips have reached 91 percent of the 2019 level.
Compared to traditional business trips, the number of promotable business trips will increase disproportionately by 13 percent to 7.1 million in 2023, reaching a market share of 60 percent. Within promotable business trips, congresses/conferences remain the strongest MICE segment, with an increase of 11 percent year-on-year and a 39 percent share of the business travel market.
The market is structured differentlyWhile Germany maintains its position as a top destination, the individual MICE components have changed. Overall, slightly fewer events took place than in the previous year, but more visitors attended and the events were larger. On-site participation in purely in-person events or hybrid formats is booming the most, with a total of 378 million participants choosing to attend an event physically. This represents growth of 21.5 percent over the previous year (2023: 310.8 million) and almost 90 percent of the 2019 level. It is also noteworthy that participants increased across all event venues – event centers, conference hotels, and event locations.
More international participantsRising demand from abroad is contributing to the positive market development: The share of international visitors to in-person events rose from 6.2 percent in 2023 to an average of 9.5 percent in 2024 – thus reaching a recovery level of 93 percent compared to 2019. The actual volume of in-person events was 2.02 million last calendar year – corresponding to a recovery level of 69.9 percent compared to 2019. This slight decline in the total volume of six percent compared to the previous year, combined with the growing number of participants – including from abroad – indicates that events are becoming larger and more international overall.
Business events attract international visitorsGerman business events in particular attract international guests: At 11.1 percent, the proportion of international participants in this segment is higher than for events overall. This corresponds to 12.7 million people who traveled to Germany from abroad in 2024 – an increase of two percentage points compared to 2023. Companies are the most important group of event organizers, accounting for almost 50 percent. In terms of the origin of the event organizers, Germany provides a solid business base for providers in the business events segment: 90.9 percent of all organizing organizations come from within the country. At the same time, there is a trend toward more international customers, whose share rose from 6.3 percent to 9.9 percent last year compared to 2023. Internationally, the immediate neighboring countries are particularly strong source markets, but the United Kingdom, the USA, and China are also making an impact.
Sustainability is a givenSustainability has become an important USP in the event industry: Between 2011 and 2024, the proportion of providers that implemented a sustainability standard or sustainability reporting more than doubled from 27 percent to 60 percent. Almost a quarter (23 percent) are in the planning phase of implementation. In contrast, almost 80 percent of event organizers prefer providers with a sustainability standard.
Artificial intelligence assistsThe event industry has recognized the benefits of AI and integrated them into its daily work more quickly than sustainability. 78 percent of event organizers and 46 percent of venues report using AI tools. Chatbots are the top choice among both stakeholder groups. AI-supported simultaneous translation and feedback and KPI analyses follow in second and third place among event organizers, while marketing applications for image and text generation are particularly popular among vendors.
Expectations 2025Both suppliers and organizers are optimistic about the coming months: 85 percent of organizers expect a (very) good event situation. 62 percent of suppliers also estimate the booking situation for the coming months as (very) good. Both groups see growth potential, especially for purely in-person events. The organizers surveyed also expect the observed increasing internationalization to continue, with more participants from other European countries. However, the general conditions for the business travel market have become significantly more difficult since the beginning of 2025. Escalating trade conflicts are dampening growth expectations in the global economy, with potential consequences for business travel as well.
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