What is MICE tourism?
MICE is the industry's name for organised business travel. Each letter is a type of event, with its own players:
| Letter | Format | Who organises it | Typical example in Madrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| M | Meetings | Companies | Leadership meeting, board meeting, training seminar |
| I | Incentives: incentive travel | Companies | Three days in Madrid with a trip to Toledo for the top sales people |
| C | Conferences: congresses and conventions | Associations and companies | International medical congress, annual sales convention |
| E | Exhibitions or Events: trade shows and events | Trade show organisers and companies | An exhibitor's dinner during FITUR or ARCOmadrid |
The formats often overlap: a congress has a social programme, a convention adds an incentive day and a trade show exhibitor organises client meetings. A MICE agency is defined not by one format but by its ability to handle groups, venues, hotels, content and logistics all at once.
Madrid in figures
The latest data on the city's meetings tourism comes from the Madrid Convention Bureau's 2024 review, published by the City Council body, and from the ICCA 2025 ranking, published in May 2026.
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings held (2024) | 54,784 (+2.3% on 2023) | Madrid Convention Bureau |
| Participants (2024) | 2.58 million (+2.28%) | Madrid Convention Bureau |
| Total economic impact (2024) | €5,674 million (+8.3%) | Madrid Convention Bureau |
| Share of Spain's MICE spending (2024) | 23.5% | Madrid Convention Bureau |
| Average stay of international participants (2024) | 4.5 days | Madrid Convention Bureau |
| Average stay of domestic participants (2024) | 2.8 days | Madrid Convention Bureau |
| ICCA ranking position (2025) | 13th in the world, 108 congresses | ICCA, via Hosteltur |
The gap between domestic and international stays has a practical reading: people coming from abroad stay almost twice as long and combine the event with the city, culture and food. That is where a local DMC adds the most.
Destination awards
Madrid has won the World Travel Awards prize for the world's leading meetings and conference destination seven times, most recently in December 2025, and according to the Madrid Convention Bureau it is the first city to have won it so many times. The bureau brings together 240 companies in the sector, including hotels, venues and suppliers.
Connections and accommodation
- Airport. Madrid-Barajas closed 2025 with 68,179,054 passengers, an all-time record according to Aena.
- Rail. The city is the hub of Spain's high-speed rail network, with Atocha and Chamartín stations.
- Hotels. In December 2025 there were 860 hotel establishments open with 93,767 bed places, according to the City Council's Economic Observatory.
You will find more data and how it has changed in the guide MICE tourism in Madrid: the data.
Madrid compared with other destinations
In the ICCA 2025 ranking, Madrid was the thirteenth city in the world and Barcelona the third. Both compete for international congresses, but they have different profiles: Madrid wins on air connections with Latin America, institutional weight and the scale of IFEMA; Barcelona on the sea and its congress tradition. For companies weighing up the two, we compare them in the guide Madrid or Barcelona for events. MC Group works in both cities: in Barcelona through its sister brand ECB.
Event infrastructure
- IFEMA MADRID. The city's exhibition centre, in Campo de las Naciones and a few minutes from the airport, with more than 200,000 m² of exhibition space and two convention centres.
- Palacio Municipal de IFEMA. An auditorium of 1,812 seats and 32 rooms for groups of 20 to 350 people.
- Convention hotels. From the Madrid Marriott Auditorium, with an auditorium for 2,000 people, to high-rise hotels on the Castellana. See convention hotels.
- Unique venues. Palaces, historic clubs, royal factories and cultural centres for dinners and events. See unique venues.
You will find a comparison of the major venues in the guide Madrid's convention centres.
How we run MICE projects
- Brief. Format, audience, dates, number of attendees, objective and budget.
- Feasibility and dates. We check your calendar against IFEMA's trade shows and congresses to avoid weeks when hotels are full.
- Proposal within 24 business hours, with venues, hotels, programme and itemised estimate.
- Contracting and production through a single point of contact for the whole project.
- Delivery with our own team at the venue and in the destination.
- Wrap-up with a final account, a report and lessons for the next edition.
Guides to organising your event
- Madrid trade show calendar 2027
- How to organise a congress in Madrid
- What a company convention in Madrid costs
- The best convention hotels in Madrid
- Unique venues in Madrid by capacity
- The best time for events in Madrid
They are all under guides. If you already have a project under way, tell us about it and we will send you a first proposal within 24 business hours.
