BEFuture: Shaping the Future of Europe’s Business Events Sector
BEFuture set out to make Europe’s business events sector more innovative, sustainable and resilient. As the first European project dedicated to business events, it brought together eight partners from six countries to help small and medium-sized enterprises make the sustainable and digital transition.
Project duration: 2023 – 2025
The challenge
Business events such as congresses and trade fairs are one of the most valuable parts of tourism. They attract high-spending visitors and bring people to destinations outside the peak season. Before the pandemic, Europe hosted 5.4 million business conventions a year, welcoming 704 million visitors.
Yet the sector faces pressing challenges, from climate change and circularity to talent, inclusion and demonstrating lasting impact. Many organisations in the sector are small businesses that lack the time, knowledge and funding to innovate on their own.
Our approach
Co-funded by the EU’s Single Market Programme and led by the Catalan Tourist Board, BEFuture combined destination organisations, convention bureaux and business support organisations with two knowledge partners: ETFI and the University of Milano-Bicocca. Using the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, the project identified best practices, mapped the business events ecosystem and developed future scenarios in think tank workshops. From ETFI, Amber Herrewijn and Jochem Jansen led the work, with Stefan Hartman as coordinator and content expert.
The impact
The project identified 82 best practices and built a stakeholder map of around 150 key contacts across Europe. Its white paper, New Scenarios and Business Models for the Future of Business Events, set out future scenarios and four building blocks for future-proof business models: Technology, Thrivability, Talent and Transformation.
These insights shaped the BEFuture Acceleration Programme, which received 202 applications and funded 80 innovative projects with €2.4 million in total, from reducing event waste to improving accessibility and hybrid event experiences.
What could we discover together?
Whether you have a research question, a project idea or an interest in collaborating, we'd love to hear from you.
Contact our team!