Just half an hour from Barcelona, with more than 300 days of sunlight and a wide range of hotels and venues, it is not surprising that Sitges is one of Spain’s leading meetings and events destinations. The town’s ancient buildings and harbour and Modernisme architecture (Catalan Art Nouveau) are testimony to its past, but Sitges looks firmly to the future, as the current investment programme – in excess of €165 million – testifies.
The town is built on 18km of unspoiled Mediterranean coast. The sea façade and promenade from the harbour to the central point have been renovated, the area behind San Sebastian beach has been pedestrianised and Passeig de la Ribera – the main seafront walk – is undergoing a facelift, as are El Cau Ferrat and Palau Maricel museums.
In addition, Sitges is focusing on creative industries, reflecting its enduring appeal to painters, sculptors and musicians, which goes back to the 19th century. The first phase of the Qualia Project will bring Sitges Centre of Design and phase two is the opening of Barcelona Institute of Performing Arts (BIPA), scheduled for autumn 2012. The building of a second university is under negotiation and the former fish market is being given a new incarnation as a Museum of Modern Art, to open next year.
If there were any doubt as to Sitges’ success as a meeting destination, the figures tell the story. “In 2009, we held 545 meetings, hosting some 37,653 delegates, generating 42,300 room nights, with an economic impact of some €25 million. And 2010 is expected to present a significant increase,” says director general of Turisme Sitges Claes Akerblom. Around 63% of the town’s business tourism is from Spain and 37% is international, of which the majority – 11.12% - comes from the UK.
Sitges has a number of conference hotels. The 5-star Dolce Sitges overlooks the town and was built with the meeting industry in mind, so much so that just before it opened in 2004, on the advice of the director at training of a German car manufacturer, the doors to four meeting spaces were replaced to bring the number of rooms with vehicle access to five. The cost was around €15,000, but rewards in the form of automotive business exceeded €8 million in the first five years of operation.
The hotel has 263 rooms and meeting space comprises an amphitheatre (475), 11 meeting rooms and 25 breakout rooms.
There are 11 4-star properties, of which the largest is Meliá Sitges and Congress Centre in the town centre, with 307 rooms and an auditorium that seats 1,380. Others have meeting capacity between 80 and 300.
Venues are many and varied, and include the Design Centre with three spaces (500), and a courtyard (800, cocktails); the neoclassical Masia den Cabanyes, with two rooms, one without columns (80) and extensive gardens (200, dinner); Palau Maricel, with six rooms (30, dinner); and the Torres vineyard, where the grounds lend themselves to activities as well as a gala dinner.
And restaurants scattered generously along the seafront are ideal for a dine-around. Sitges is justiably proud of its culinary tradition and seafood inevitably leads the way.
Advantage Travel held its annual conference in Sitges in 2008. “It was a fantastic success,” says sales and marketing director Colin O’Neill. “We had around 500 delegates, who stayed in half-a-dozen hotels. There is a good spread of hotels and they are quite close to one another. We had a dine-around with dinners sponsored by 10 business partners and we used a stately home for the gala dinner.
“The main contract was with the Catalan Tourist Board and we worked with the Sitges convention bureau,” he says.
“It is not just a conference, agents come back and sell the destination, so we wanted to see as much as possible of what Sitges has to offer.”
By Catherine Chetwynd