The year 2025 was a period of stabilization rather than growth for congress tourism in the South Moravian Region. Although official statistics show a slight decrease in the number of conferences, a closer look at the results of key event organizers indicates that the market remains strong and stable.
What do the official data show?
A total of 2,133 conferences were held in the South Moravian Region in 2025, representing a year-on-year decrease of approximately 3.6%. The South Moravian Region has long maintained a share of around 17% of the total number of conferences in the Czech Republic and remains the strongest regional destination outside Prague.
It is important to note that the decline was concentrated mainly in the second half of the year. The first half of 2025 was comparable to, or even slightly stronger than, the same period in 2024. The third and particularly the fourth quarter, however, followed an exceptionally strong autumn in 2024, which makes the year-on-year decrease appear more pronounced. Rather than indicating a structural weakening of the market, this reflects a return to a more typical level after an exceptionally successful year.
Autumn traditionally represents the strongest period of the year for congresses and conferences. This was also the case in 2025, although a slight decline was recorded compared to the exceptionally strong year of 2024.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, a total of 594 conferences were held in the South Moravian Region, which is approximately 22% fewer than in the same period of the previous year. Despite this decrease, the region maintained its position as the second most active region in the country, after Prague.
Around 80% of all conferences took place in Brno, confirming its dominant role within the region. A typical conference hosts approximately 95–100 participants, indicating that the market is largely composed of small and medium-sized events.
What does the survey among key organizers (our partners) show?
In addition to official statistics, we also monitor market developments through information collected from our partners, among whom we regularly conduct a survey. The survey includes 28 key organizers, mainly large hotels in Brno and the South Moravian Region as well as operators of conference venues.
Over the entire year of 2025, the survey recorded a total of 4,865 events with an average attendance of 243 participants.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, these partners reported a total of 1,485 events with an average attendance of approximately 337 participants. The highest number of events took place in October and November, while December traditionally shows a seasonal slowdown.
Most events were short in duration:
- around 68% were one-day events,
- approximately 24% lasted two days,
- longer formats represented only a small share.
In terms of scope, national and local events dominated (together accounting for nearly 90%), while international events represented roughly one tenth of the total. The most common formats were corporate conferences, followed by incentive events and meetings of professional associations. In terms of topics, cultural and social events, economics and finance, technical fields, and education were the most prevalent.
The year 2025 was characterized by:
- a predominance of short event formats,
- the dominance of small and medium-sized events,
- the key role of congress hotels as the main infrastructure,
- a strong concentration of events in Brno.
Compared to the previous year, higher activity was observed particularly in the second half of the year, especially in the corporate events segment.
How can the differences between the statistics be explained?
At first glance, the results of the official statistics and the survey may appear different. In reality, however, they reflect different parts of the market and therefore complement rather than contradict each other.
The statistics of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) cover the entire market, including smaller organizers and venues whose activity may fluctuate more throughout the year.
The survey, on the other hand, focuses on the main professional organizers and key congress infrastructure, such as congress hotels and large conference venues.
As a result, official statistics may show a slight decline in the number of events, while data from the main organizers confirm stable, and in some cases even growing, activity within the professional segment of the market.
Summary of 2025
The year 2025 did not bring any significant weakening of congress tourism in the South Moravian Region. Rather, it represented a return from the record-breaking year of 2024 to a more stable level.
Key observations include:
- the South Moravian Region maintained its position as the second most important region in the Czech Republic,
- Brno remains the clear centre of congress activity in the region,
- the market is structurally stable,
- growth is mainly concentrated in corporate and shorter-format events,
- there has been no significant increase in large international congresses.
The South Moravian Region therefore remains one of the leading congress destinations in the Czech Republic. While results may vary between individual periods, these fluctuations are primarily due to normal seasonal variations.
For this reason, in the coming years we plan to focus particularly on supporting international events, strengthening cooperation with local institutions, and further increasing the visibility of Brno and the South Moravian Region as an attractive congress destination.