The Sitges Convention Bureau (Sitges CB) rounded off its 20th anniversary with a ceremony full of emotions, bringing together over a hundred people linked to the meetings, congresses and conventions sector. Held at the Hotel ME Sitges Terramar, the meeting combined inspiring speeches, exciting experiences, recognition and a networking dinner to culminate two decades of collective work.

Under the slogan “Together, we're much stronger than individually”, the event looked to highlight the value of the alliance between institutions, companies and professionals that has helped to consolidate Sitges as one of Catalonia’s main MICE destinations, second only to Barcelona. During the event there was recognition for the work carried out over the last 20 years, with over 391 commercial actions, 247 fact-finding and press trips, and home-produced events that have positioned the Sitges CB as a leading programme for tourism at both a national and international level.

The event was attended by the Mayor of Sitges, Aurora Carbonell, the Councillor for Tourism, Xavi Ripoll, and the Deputy for Tourism, Ana Herrera. Former mayors and councillors for tourism from the last 20 years also attended, as did representatives from the Catalan Convention Bureau and founding members of the Sitges CB from 2004, along with other guests. The Mayor opted to “congratulate everybody who has made it possible for the Sitges CB to have the recognition it has today. Thanks to collaboration and joint work between you, companies and institutions, Sitges has managed to become consolidated as Catalonia’s second MICE destination. This is your success. Congratulations to all the people and organisations involved, and in particular the Sitges Convention Bureau for these twenty years”. For his part, the Councillor Xavi Ripoll noted that “these twenty years are a demonstration of resilience and the capacity to adapt before the constant changes in this sector, which have allowed us to maintain Sitges as a competitive destination with the capacity to look confidently to the future. We will continue to back the most innovative and sustainable tourism, most closely linked to the values of our local area”. For the Deputy for Tourism, Ana Herrera, “Sitges has turned its excellence into a recognised asset. Yet the most important thing is it has done so without foregoing its essence, linking this sector to the local identity, culture, landscape and sustainability of the area”.

The professional session Sitges CB - EMO Talks was one of the key moments of the morning. The facilitator Jordi Nexus gave an inspiring account of the history of MICE in Sitges, getting all attendees involved through an interactive game with questions. Raimond Torrents, CEO of the Event Management Institute, underlined the measurable value of emotions in events and outlined some methodologies to gauge emotional impact. In this respect, the emotional data gathered on the spot by Edgard Sanjuán, from the company Emogg, backed up the great value that emotions have in experiences lived.

Jahresversammlung und Bekenntnis zur Zukunft

The Sitges CB annual assembly was held before the main ceremony, with 35 members taking part.  The action plan for the Councillor’s Office for Tourism was outlined, along with the actions carried out by Sitges CB during the first half of 2025 and the strategy planned for the 2025-2026 period, to continue attracting congresses, meetings, conventions and incentive trips.

The ceremony ended with the anniversary cake being cut and a networking dinner where attendees continued to share experiences and consolidate future alliances.