Czechia is the most attractive European country for German companies in terms of organising congresses, conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions and motivational events for employees. Approximately 35% (in the context of congress tourism) and 34% (in the context of incentive tourism) of German companies think so. 65% of them are likely to hold a congress or other event in Czechia within two years. This was shown in a survey conducted by the Institute of Tourism of the CzechTourism agency. Germany thus has great economic potential for Czechia.
Companies from Germany spontaneously recall Prague (14%) and culture (11%) the most in the context of the Czechia. They also often mention beer (10%) and the beauty of the Czech nature (9%). They also associate Czechia with a language they do not understand and view it as an affordable country.
"Czechia as a location for congress tourism is attractive for the overwhelming majority of German companies with a turnover of between 5 and 20 million euros. Meanwhile, those with more than 1,000 employees prefer France for MICE events, while companies with a turnover of more than EUR 200 million currently prefer Spain and Austria. However, we could change this if we grasp the findings of our survey correctly," says CEO of the Czech Tourism Centre - CzechTourism Jan Herget and adds: "Better customer service can help to locate congresses and other events in the Czech Republic in 12% of cases, as our Tourism Institute survey shows, and the same percentage of German companies is due to economic opportunities and better offers. Better conference facilities (10%), more information (7%) and better infrastructure (5%) also play a role."
Jan Herget highlights the good news: 65% of German companies in selected sectors with more than 50 employees are likely to hold a congress tourism event in Czechia in the next two years. If a company from Germany does hold a congress in Czechia, 83% of the time it will do so repeatedly. In particular, they will recognise and appreciate the domestic level and quality of catering (28%), the level and quality of accommodation (25%) and the price level (25%).
"Apart from the hotel offer, German organisers consider the price and accessibility of the destination to be the most important factors for choosing a destination for MICE events. This all favours events in the Czech Republic: high airfares to more distant destinations, as well as the price increase in Germany, are leading companies to look for new options," says Director of the Czech Tourism Office - CzechTourism's foreign representation for Germany Markéta Chaloupková and adds: "In order to facilitate this search, we will intensify our communication of the MICE potential of individual regions, both within our activities and in cooperation with professional media and partners."
The current interest of German companies in Czechia also concerns events for employees, i.e. incentive tourism.
"Of all European countries, German companies consider Czechia the most attractive for incentive tourism as well as for congress tourism. Smaller companies are more interested, those with more than 1,000 employees currently prefer Finland, while international companies based in Germany mention Switzerland the most. Nevertheless, 68% of respondents from Germany consider the Czech Republic to be a good place for incentive tourism," says Head of the Institute of Tourism at CzechTourism Petr Janeček and ads: "According to the survey, attractive offers and better prices (22%), economic development (14%) and the organisation of tourist tours and cultural events (12%) could change perceptions. 63% of German companies are likely to do so within two years."
Incentive tourism events, as well as congress events, are likely to be organised in Czechia within two years mainly by German companies employing 250 people or less. As far as events for employees are concerned, mainly German companies in the transport and logistics sector want to hold them in the heart of Europe. And if they have already organised an event in Czechia, they will most likely do so again, just as with congresses, conferences, exhibitions or trade fairs.
"We have long perceived the German market as one of the important source markets for MICE. This year, we have offered all our partners to participate in a few selected MICE events - the largest congress fair IMEX Frankfurt or the specialised sales forum Meet Berlin," says Senior manager of the Czech Convention Bureau Tereza Hofmanová and adds: "We also organised a fam trip for German buyers as part of the June Events Club Forum. And this autumn we are planning a MICE workshop for partners."
The survey "The potential of the German market for MICE in the Czech Republic", which was attended by 202 key managers or decision makers in German companies with more than 50 employees, took place in May this year. Detailed results are available at www.tourdata.cz.
"Czechia as a location for congress tourism is attractive for the overwhelming majority of German companies with a turnover of between 5 and 20 million euros. Meanwhile, those with more than 1,000 employees prefer France for MICE events, while companies with a turnover of more than EUR 200 million currently prefer Spain and Austria. However, we could change this if we grasp the findings of our survey correctly," says CEO of the Czech Tourism Centre - CzechTourism Jan Herget and adds: "Better customer service can help to locate congresses and other events in the Czech Republic in 12% of cases, as our Tourism Institute survey shows, and the same percentage of German companies is due to economic opportunities and better offers. Better conference facilities (10%), more information (7%) and better infrastructure (5%) also play a role."
Jan Herget highlights the good news: 65% of German companies in selected sectors with more than 50 employees are likely to hold a congress tourism event in Czechia in the next two years. If a company from Germany does hold a congress in Czechia, 83% of the time it will do so repeatedly. In particular, they will recognise and appreciate the domestic level and quality of catering (28%), the level and quality of accommodation (25%) and the price level (25%).
"Apart from the hotel offer, German organisers consider the price and accessibility of the destination to be the most important factors for choosing a destination for MICE events. This all favours events in the Czech Republic: high airfares to more distant destinations, as well as the price increase in Germany, are leading companies to look for new options," says Director of the Czech Tourism Office - CzechTourism's foreign representation for Germany Markéta Chaloupková and adds: "In order to facilitate this search, we will intensify our communication of the MICE potential of individual regions, both within our activities and in cooperation with professional media and partners."
The current interest of German companies in Czechia also concerns events for employees, i.e. incentive tourism.
"Of all European countries, German companies consider Czechia the most attractive for incentive tourism as well as for congress tourism. Smaller companies are more interested, those with more than 1,000 employees currently prefer Finland, while international companies based in Germany mention Switzerland the most. Nevertheless, 68% of respondents from Germany consider the Czech Republic to be a good place for incentive tourism," says Head of the Institute of Tourism at CzechTourism Petr Janeček and ads: "According to the survey, attractive offers and better prices (22%), economic development (14%) and the organisation of tourist tours and cultural events (12%) could change perceptions. 63% of German companies are likely to do so within two years."
Incentive tourism events, as well as congress events, are likely to be organised in Czechia within two years mainly by German companies employing 250 people or less. As far as events for employees are concerned, mainly German companies in the transport and logistics sector want to hold them in the heart of Europe. And if they have already organised an event in Czechia, they will most likely do so again, just as with congresses, conferences, exhibitions or trade fairs.
"We have long perceived the German market as one of the important source markets for MICE. This year, we have offered all our partners to participate in a few selected MICE events - the largest congress fair IMEX Frankfurt or the specialised sales forum Meet Berlin," says Senior manager of the Czech Convention Bureau Tereza Hofmanová and adds: "We also organised a fam trip for German buyers as part of the June Events Club Forum. And this autumn we are planning a MICE workshop for partners."
The survey "The potential of the German market for MICE in the Czech Republic", which was attended by 202 key managers or decision makers in German companies with more than 50 employees, took place in May this year. Detailed results are available at www.tourdata.cz.