Lloret de Mar consolidates its position as a leading destination for MICE & Sports tourism by participating in the first edition of the MICE & Sports Showcase held in Santa Susanna, organised by FC Sport Experiences, a UK-based company specialising in MICE and sports, and supported by the Catalan Tourist Board (ACT). According to the manager of Lloret Turisme, Elizabeth Keegan: “From the moment we heard about this initiative, we were committed to it, participating in and hosting a prospecting visit in a tourism segment that allows us to showcase the tourism products in which we are leaders: sports tourism and meetings and events tourism”.
The event brought together 25 international operators specialising in sports and meetings tourism, offering professional contacts and promoting the destination’s specialised offerings. Lloret de Mar was represented by Lloret Turisme, accompanied by several local companies such as Melià Lloret, Evenia Hotels and Sport Contact.
Subsequently, three famtrips were held, one of which took place in Lloret de Mar and the Costa Brava, co-organised with the Catalan Tourist Board, the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board and Lloret Turisme. This familiarisation trip was attended by seven international agencies, which were able to see first-hand the destination’s potential for hosting corporate events and sports stays.
During the famtrip, participants enjoyed a full schedule of activities that included an immersive experience at Lloret Castle, a visit to the municipal sports facilities, a visit to the 20th-century gardens of Santa Clotilde with a presentation of the new amphitheatre, lunch and a visit to the 5* Santa Marta Hotel, and various complementary experiences at the Girona FC football ground and at the Camiral, a Quinta do Lago Resort, Girona.
Lloret de Mar, with more than 100,000 sports tourists in 2024, has been certified as a Sports Tourism Destination since 2006, and since 2009, it has had the Lloret Convention Bureau with more than 50 members, becoming one of the first sun and beach municipalities in Spain to work with this product.
MICE in Lloret: a year-end with top-level events
The last four months of the year have confirmed the good health of the MICE segment in Lloret de Mar, with the holding of numerous corporate events, conventions and international incentives that have brought together participants from different countries and sectors. Among the most notable at the national level are the conventions of multinationals such as Unilever, Kave Home, Eurofins Laboratories and Mary Kay. Several international incentive trips have also been held, such as those organised by Selvert Thermal (Italian cosmetics sector, 200 people), Delko (French automotive sector, 280 participants) and Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (technology convention for 200 attendees).
In addition to these events, there have been other incentives and professional meetings, such as that of the US company Pear Sandals, those of the Scandinavian agency Provotum with companies from Finland and Sweden, and corporate activities by firms such as AGC Pharma, T-Systems and Fit XR, with participants from Spain and the United Kingdom. The season has also included major international conventions such as Gang of Pizza (550 people, France), The Access Group (two incentives for 860 and 540 people, United Kingdom and Romania), Isaza Medical (56 participants, Spain) and Herbalife (292 participants, Spain).
The Councillor for Tourism, Cristina Aymerich, explains that: “Lloret de Mar reaffirms its strategic commitment to the MICE&Sports segment, which clearly contributes to the deseasonalisation and diversification of the tourist offer, and consolidates the municipality as one of the leading destinations in Catalonia and Spain for holding conventions, incentives and sporting events in a unique setting such as the Costa Brava.”
