National and international convention and meeting organisers are convinced of the quality of the convention metropolis Berlin.

This is confirmed by the latest convention statistics of the Berlin Convention Office (BCO) of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM) for the first half of 2008.

The numbers of both events and participants increased compared with the same period last year. Between January and June 2008 50,700 conventions and meetings were held in Berlin. This corresponds to an increase of three percent (2007: 49,300 events). 3.86 million visitors came to the German capital to attend these events – two percent more than the previous year. 

Hanns Peter Nerger, President and CEO of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH comments, "The latest data confirm the leading position of Berlin as an excellent convention location. We are delighted that the German capital is proving increasingly popular abroad as well. One in five events now has an international dimension. This underscores once again the growing importance of the convention market as an economic factor for Berlin.”

The very high standards and the excellent value for money in the 160 convention hotels in the metropolis on the river Spree are the keys to success. Between January and June of this year they hosted 42,300 events, three percent more events than in the 1st half of 2007. What’s more, the number of participants also climbed by two percent to 2.27 million.

Furthermore, the numerous unusual venues, also called "Locations", play a central role on the Berlin meeting and convention market. 132 venues in this category make available 276,200 m2 event space. With around 7,100 events (+3%) and 1.1 million participants (+4%), they were very well booked in the first half of 2008 (2007: 6,900 business meetings with 1.05 million guests).

The number of events in the six convention centres and halls in the German capital was consolidated on a high level. They recorded 1,300 events and 500,000 participants in the Half-Yearly Report 2008.

According to information from the International Congress Centre (ICC), the most important convention centre in the Spree metropolis, it is fully booked for 2008. This positive result is reflected in the numbers in the latest convention statistics. 

Meeting and convention business travel generated more than two million bed nights in Berlin between January and June 2008. This is an increase of three percent compared with the same period last year (1.99 million bed nights). In the first half of 2008 the events generally had a more pronounced international dimension. The proportion of European guests and visitors from other continents increased by one percent to 15 (Europe) and five percent respectively. By contrast, the proportion of regional participants in the first half of 2008 fell by three to 46 percent. 34 percent of all convention and meeting participants in the first half of 2008 were of German origin. This corresponds to an increase of one percent compared with the same period last year.

Given the growing number of international participants, the average length of meetings in Berlin between January and June 2008 has risen slightly to 1.6 days (2007: 1.5 days).