For more than 800 years, Frankfurt has been the commercial pulse of a country steeped in history, culture and a legendary landscape that helped shape the narrative of modern humans. More than 11 million travelers visit the city each year, many of whom use it as a jumping-off point to explore Germany. But a large portion of them visit for other reasons, namely Frankfurt’s status as one of Europe’s leading business destinations.

“Seventy percent of visitors who come to Frankfurt are business travelers,” said Jutta Heinrich, director, Frankfurt Convention Bureau. “This makes the MICE industry an extremely important economic factor for our city.” In fact, business-related events in the city accounted for 67.5 percent of all events held in Frankfurt in 2024, with international organizers coming primarily from the United States, Great Britain and Switzerland.

Already home to 255 event venues, with more on the way, the city expects several hotels with meeting and conference spaces to open by the end of 2025 and throughout 2026. Infrastructure is constantly being upgraded to support this steady influx of visitors to a city that is already a hot spot for financial and commercial industries.

“The Frankfurt hotel landscape is continuously growing, with unusual locations joining the city’s portfolio,” said Heinrich, who has spent more than 25 years overseeing the conventions bureau. During her time she has seen the city’s landscape change, turning it into the appealing international destination it is today. That change continues as the city welcomes new developments and technologies to further solidify it as one of Europe’s top business destinations. “New multifunctional locations will be built,” she said, “and Terminal 3 at the airport is set to open in 2026, which will make Frankfurt even more accessible by plane.”

© Alte Oper Frankfurt /Norbert Miguletz

This accessibility is key to the success of Frankfurt’s ever-evolving MICE scene, as the city embraces a sustainable approach to business tourism. As of 2024, about 48 percent of businesses in Frankfurt currently employ sustainability measures, with another 38 percent working on plans to implement them in the near future. All new construction in the city, including new hotels and event spaces, must be designed and constructed using “Open Space and Climate Design Regulations.”

All this change represents a city that welcomes the future with a commitment to meet the evolving needs of the business world, something apparent in Frankfurt’s willingness to adopt and incorporate AI. Currently, Frankfurt is above average for German cities in its use, with about 30 percent of the city’s MICE service providers incorporating AI into their daily operations. This includes using tools such as chatbots to help organizers efficiently arrange events and activities.

The city has taken a comprehensive step to make event planning easy and efficient with its FRM Meeting Guide, a tool provided by the Frankfurt Convention Bureau. This online tool puts the entire city at event organizers’ fingertips by giving them one convenient place to explore every type of venue available — from hotels to meeting spaces for everything from small meetings to large-scale conferences and trade shows — so they can find services to meet their unique needs. As AI technology evolves and more service providers adopt its use, Frankfurt’s MICE landscape will continue to adapt, moving forward with a model embracing sustainability and technology to cement the city’s role as a top MICE destination for Europe.

Klassikstadt © Meinzahn | Dreamstime.com

UNIQUE VENUES
Several venues showcase the city’s history alongside modern accommodations. Palais Frankfurt offers modern amenities housed within a building boasting traditional German architecture, all set amid a backdrop of modern high-rises. Located in the heart of the city along the Zeil, Frankfurt’s premier shopping street, this venue is ideally situated for easy access and offers state-of-the-art
event services.

The Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten, set amid the city’s majestic Palmengarten botanical gardens, offers banquet services featuring sustainable cuisine and can accommodate up to 2,000 guests for everything from small group meetings to large conferences and trade show events.

Alte Oper Frankfurt offers an event space with state-of-the-art facilities tucked away inside a historical facade. The cultural landmark — a former opera house built in the Italian Renaissance style — was constructed in 1880 and houses two music halls, four parlors and four foyers. In all, the space accommodates 3,000 people.

Klassikstadt gives a glimpse into a more unique side of Frankfurt’s culture. This massive red brick building, reminiscent of an industrial past, serves as a living museum-slash-classic car storage facility that also happens to have plenty of unique event spaces, including indoor facilities and rooftop patios, so you can accommodate a variety of individual activations within a much larger-scale event.