In 2014, out of the approximately 200 conventions held in Nice, 70% were in the medical sector. A field in which the excellence of Nice enjoys international recognition.
Each of these conventions has significant scientific benefits for medicine but also economic benefits for the city and its region.
It is within this dynamic that the OTC Nice built the Ambassador Program, which aims to strengthen the promotion of candidacies by ensuring their quality through the support and logistical aid from the Tourism and Convention Bureau, which has set up a dedicated team.
This program will gradually be expanded to other economic sectors to create a real “commercial” link and be present with the maximum chance of success in the highly competitive convention tourism market.
In a general configuration, business tourism represents about 20% of overall tourist activities. France, Great Britain, Spain, and Austria hold large shares of the European convention market. The French market spent 8.91 billion euros*
According to figures reported by hosting sites, the number of conventions observed on a constant panel of sites increased from 647 to 713 in 2013, a 10% increase over the period.
Notably, in the segment of internationally declared conventions, the average participation fell from about 1,391 to 1,269 attendees, a decrease of 8.8%, breaking the trend of 2012/2011 where such events recorded a 2.9% increase in the average number of participants.
On the other hand, the dynamics observed in national and local conventions—regardless of their location in France—remained positive as the average number of participants rose from 855 in 2012 to 989 in 2013, a 15.7% increase, in the conventions of the observed sites.
In terms of sectors, medical conventions (health, medicine, pharmacy, medical research) remain the most numerous, representing 43.5% of the total number of conventions.
However, participation recorded a 10.7% decrease, effectively impacting the average number of participants, which in 2013 was around 1,030 compared to 1,187 the previous year.
These figures may relate to measures taken at the end of 2012 in the social security financing law, which taxes pharmaceutical companies for their promotional expenses in conventions.
