News about MICE segment end events in Hungary

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  More and more conferences held in Hungary

  A total of 1197 conferences (476 international and 721 Hungarian events) were held in Hungary in the first six months of 2014. This means an increase by 10.7% compared to the first half of 2013.
  With the aid of its partners, the Hungarian Convention Bureau of the Magyar Turizmus Zrt. (Hungarian Tourist  Board) was able to follow changes and new trends in the way that conferences, events and programs are organized in Hungary. Due to the new data collection method and criteria system, introduced in 2013, we now have more detailed and accurate information at our disposal about international and Hungarian conferences.

   

  Almost 190 000 people attended the conferences on the whole. 72% of the events were held in Budapest and 28% took place in the provinces. More than 80% of the international conferences were staged in Budapest – the capital remains a popular place for international events.

  As far as Hungarian conferences are concerned, almost 40% of them were held in the provinces.

   

   

  Analysis of the conferences

   

  By international conferences we mean business meetings and association meetings for at least 50 international participants (this definition is different than that of ICCA) whereas by Hungarian conferences we mean business meetings and association meetings for at least 50 Hungarian participants. 

   

  On the basis of the information, provided by the partners of the Hungarian Convention Bureau, a total of 1197 conferences were held in the first six months of 2014 (476 international and 721 Hungarian events), which means an increase by 10,7% compared to the same period of 2013. Almost 190 000 attendees participated the conferences on the whole. 

   

   

  Geographical distribution of international and Hungarian conferences (%):

  	Budapest	Provinces
  International	82	18
  Hungarian	63	37
  Total	72	28

   

   

   

   

  As can be seen,  the discrepancy between the ratio of conferences held in Budapest and in the provinces are not so striking in the case of Hungarian conferences as are in the case of international events. The role of hotels also continued to grow: 85,3% of the events were staged in hotels, 6,8% in congressional centers, 2,3% at universities and 5,6% at other venues.

  A total of 78 814 participants were registered at the 476 international conferences, where the mean number of participants was 166.

   

  Hungarian conferences, all in all 721, were attended by 109 071 participants, with an average number of 151 participants.

   

  The number of attendees was between 50 and 100 in most cases.

   

   

  Nationality of the organizer:
   

  Hungarian	51
  British	9,4
  American	8,4
  German	4,2
  French	2,7
  Italian	2,5
  Belgian	2,3
  Czech	2,3
  Dutch	1

   

   

  Participants of international conferences by nation (%):

  Hungarian	55,1
  German	21,8
  British	21,8
  American	19,2
  French	16,6
  Italian	16,6
  Polish	16,6
  Dutch	10,3
  Czech	10,3
  Serbian	8,9
  Belgian	7,7
  Slovenian	7,7
  Norwegian	7,7

   

   

  Analysis of international and Hungarian conferences by organizer:

  	Number of conferences		Ratio of conferences
  	First six months of 2013	First six months of 2014	2014/2013	First six months of 2014
  international	461	476	+3,3%	39,8%
  association	183	116	-36,6%	24,4%
  business	278	316	+ 13,7%	66,4%
  other	–	44	–	9,2%
  Hungarian	620	721	+16,3%	60,2%
  association	158	116	-26,6%	16,1%
  business	462	494	+6,9%	68,5%
  other	–	111	–	15,4%
  Total	1081	1197	+10,7%	100%

  The category ’other’ was introduced after the first six months of 2013. It contains the events organized by ministries, endowments, research units and churches.

   

  International and Hungarian conferences by month (%):

  January	16,1
  February	18,6
  March	17,9
  April	14,5
  May	19,5
  June	13,4

  
  Source: Magyar Turizmus Zrt.
  Photo credit: bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock.com

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