SEMERGEN Congress breaks attendance record, generating an economic impact for Mallorca of almost 7 million euros

The Spanish Association of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN) held its 40th National Congress last week in Palma de Mallorca, beating all previous attendance records with more than 5,500 attendees including doctors and representatives of different organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. The economic impact for the city is estimated at around 7 million euros according to the Organising Committee, an average spend of 1,200 euros per person including mostly accommodation (the city had maximum occupancy levels during the event), restaurants, transport in Palma and other purchases, but not including flights.

The SEMERGEN Congress is the biggest event in the Spanish health industry and the largest medical congress held to date at the Palma Convention Centre, leveraging the Centre’s capacity to meet the exacting requirements of congress business, the most important in the MICE industry and the source of around 60% of business travel worldwide.

The SEMERGEN Congress debated the present and future of Primary Care in Spain with around 300 speakers and almost 40% of family doctors from all over Spain among the attendees. The Organising Committee also showed its support for the victims of the floods in Sant Llorenç in Mallorca with a donation of 10,000 euros.

Along with the lectures and seminars, the Congress programme also included several workshops and activities thanks to the versatility of the Palma Convention Centre which allows a large number of activities to be held simultaneously in its different facilities.

The event reaffirms the successful development of business tourism the city has seen since the Convention Centre opened. The Centre was designed precisely to cover the need for facilities for large-scale MICE events, with the congress industry its most important target market. Since opening, the Convention Centre is proving to be a fundamental driver of the transformation of island tourism, attracting major events in the low season and favouring increased visitor numbers outside the summer period and an increase in average spend in the destination. In 2018, the Convention Centre has already hosted 10 medical congresses with a total of 15,000 attendees.