We often think we know everything - or almost everything - about these neighbouring countries, so close yet so different. Spain is a case in point, with tourist resources that seem so vast as to challenge even the most experienced traveller. Who, for example, can boast of having visited the 44 Unesco World Heritage sites in Spain ? Or to have wandered the aisles of some 1500 museums of a country that has produced cultural ambassadors such as Goya, Velasquez, Miro, Dali and Picasso? This inexhaustible cultural heritage opens up an almost inexhaustible range of possibilities for event organisers. They can transform a museum into a reception area, or include in their incentive programme a journey back in time, into the lair of the Cordoba mosque or in the majestic setting of a monastery. In fact, you don't need to go back centuries to appreciate the richness of this architectural heritage: more than fifty convention centres are dotted all over Spain, offering first-class MICE capacity and often bearing the signatures of major international stars, such as Norman Foster in Valencia. A fine setting for a company seminar... It's easy to see why Barcelona and Madrid are in the top ten. top 5 world ranking produced by the leading player in the field: the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
While Spain's infrastructure for corporate clients is an important part of the destination's appeal - and the hotel sector has also been brought up to speed, like the Marqués de Riscal hotel - it is by no means enough to sum up Spanish MICE. After all, it's in the open air, and more often than not in the sunshine, that the Iberian treasures are best enjoyed. No fewer than 8000 km of coastline offer an ideal playground for stimulating teams through all kinds of water-based activities, each at their own pace. Open to the sea - and to the ocean - the peninsula is nonetheless landward-looking, so business customers can explore on foot or by bike. Green Spain and its fifteen or so national parksor take a golf break between meetings.
And when the evening comes, at the end of this busy programme, Spain plays one of its trump cards: gastronomy... A trump card that can be conjugated in the plural of the different regional specialities, that can be savoured in miniature in the form of tapas, or that takes on a more distinguished air under the patina of Michelin-starred chefs. So the hardest part is often choosing from this amazing catalogue, which is constantly being added to by the Spanish MICE industry. This is where all the experience of local specialists comes into play, starting of course with the tourist office, the various Convention Bureauxbut also by Dynamic and experienced DMCs These are the key people to help you find the best combination of originality and efficiency, to suit every budget.
Spanish Tourist Office :
01 45 03 82 52
marketing@tourspain.es
www.spain.info/fr
