Frankfurt on Main, 17 April 2007. The Meeting & EventBarometer 2007, created by the European Institute for the Meetings Industry (EITW) on behalf of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), the German Convention Bureau (GCB) and the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC), not only presents quantity and sales figures but also compares event regions in Germany.
Over 600 interviewed experts of the word-wide meetings and events industry identified a clear preference of the meetings and events business for (large) cities and industrial regions: Just under two-thirds (63.6 per cent) world-wide considered large and historical cities the ideal meeting and event destinations in Germany, with over 20 per cent favouring industrial regions and only 16 per cent opting for rural areas.

Preferred regions and federal states in Germany
Among the favoured metropolitan and industrial regions for meetings and events from the viewpoint of 37,000 organisers in Europe, Berlin is number one. Followed by the Rhine-Main area in second place, and Munich, Cologne/Düsseldorf and Hamburg sharing the number three spot. Stuttgart, the Ruhr Area, Dresden, Hannover and the Rhine-Neckar region with Mannheim, Heidelberg and Karlsruhe follow suit. Berlin and Dresden were quoted as eastern German destinations.
The most popular federal states as destinations for meetings, conventions and events are Berlin, Bavaria and North-Rhine Westphalia. Apart from Berlin and Hamburg the south-west currently has a stronger profile than the north-east.

Top Ten in Europe for meetings and events
The EITW asked experts and organisers for their opinion on European countries. For the experts Germany was number one, followed by France, Austria and Spain.

Around 95 per cent of organisers rate Germany as “better than” or at least “equal to” preferred European meeting destinations. The reason for this favourable image is Germany’s reputation as a meetings and events  destination with organisers: Both the “hardware” - meetings infrastructure and attractions - and “software“ - security, service and language skills - are rated as very good to good in Germany by organisers all over Europe. The Meeting & EventBarometer further differentiates Germany’s core competencies as a meetings and events destination from the experts’ viewpoint: Its air and road travel network, meeting and exhibition facilities, convention centres and meeting hotels appeal especially to experts.

Prospects of the German meetings and events market
Experts and organisers forecast good prospects for the German meetings and events market: They predict that especially meetings and seminars will become increasingly important in future. In their forecasts for the event sector experts were even more optimistic than organisers.

Finally, industry experts were asked to give their opinion on market trends: 93 per cent of experts predict that professional event production will become ever more important for meetings and events. 86 per cent think that virtual communication will not replace personal encounters. 80 per cent of informants believe that demand for interactive personal encounters will rise and the environment aspect will gain a central role in event management.

The same number of experts believe that corporate meetings and events in external venues will rise – but not to the detriment of in-house events, which will also increase according to 61 per cent of informants. At 72 per cent, a clear majority expect Germany’s image as a meetings and event destination to become increasingly better.