Berlin, 11 August 2014 Berlin, the successful congress location: according to current statistics*, in the first half of 2014 about 4.75 million people (+2% compared to the same period for the previous year) attended 61,100 congresses, conventions and events (+2%) in the German capital. About 17 % of the events had an international presence (+2%). Berlin has therefore secured its good position on the national and international market as a convention and congress destination.

The German capital has increasingly positioned itself as a location for events in science and medicine. The number of events in the industries “medicine, science and research” increased from 7.1 per cent in the first half of 2013 to 10 per cent in the same period of the current year. Measured by the number of attendees, this field makes up 12 per cent of all events.

“We market Berlin specifically to these industries because the city has a lot of potential with its well-known institutions for medicine and health management,” says Heike Mahmoud, Director of the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office. This also applies to technologies in the field of IT: “Berlin startups are again and again conquering the world. The city has exactly the right atmosphere for congresses which deal with innovation,” explains Mahmoud.

The Berlin convention and congress market generated 3.2 million overnight (+3%) stays in the first half of the year (2013: 3.1 million). This makes up about one quarter of all hotel overnight stays in the capital.

More information about the congress metropolis Berlin at convention.visitBerlin.com.