• Thanks to the collaboration between SERAM and Zentropy MICE, the congress has served as a pilot experience, allowing the first real measurements of the impact of events on the city and feeding the tools developed by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) for a smarter and more transparent management of congress tourism

The 38th National Congress of the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM), held at the Valencia Conference Centre, marked a milestone by becoming the zero congress of the European Zentropy MICE project. This experience served as a starting point to test a new approach to MICE tourism that is more sustainable, measurable, and focused on urban legacy.

Thanks to the collaboration between SERAM and Zentropy MICE, the congress operated as a pilot case, enabling the first real measurements of the impact that professional conferences generate in their host cities. This represents a key first step to test and validate new analytical tools and move towards a more conscious, data-driven management approach.

Measuring to understand the impact of conferences

Zentropy MICE is a European project aimed at developing advanced analytical tools to understand how professional events interact with the urban environment. Its objective is clear: to improve the quality of tourist destinations and transform the impacts generated by conferences into urban value and a lasting legacy for the city and its citizens.

In this context, the participation of the SERAM Congress as the zero congress has allowed the first real measurements to be made, which feed the urban entropy and legacy calculator that is being developed by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) within the framework of the project.

Based on an analysis of conference attendees’ behaviour—how they move around the city, where they stay, and what activities they participate in during their visit—the UPV research team is developing two quantitative digital tools. These tools will make it possible to objectively evaluate the impact of conference tourism and support smarter, more transparent, and sustainable event management.

Data to improve both the city and the congress experience

Data collected from participants’ responses provide valuable insights for decision-making. This knowledge not only contributes to improving the experience of congress attendees, but also helps the host city optimise services, reduce negative impacts, and maximise the value generated by this type of tourism.

The ultimate goal is to move towards a more balanced event model, capable of generating real benefits for both delegates and the local community.

SERAM 2026: science, city and future

In its 38th edition, the Congress of the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM) brought together nearly 3,000 attendees in Valencia, including healthcare professionals and industry representatives, consolidating itself as one of the main national forums for the exchange of knowledge and reflection on the present and future of radiology, a key discipline for medical diagnosis.

Over the course of four days, the congress extended beyond its scientific programme by integrating experiences linked to the city of Valencia as both a tourist and urban destination. Among these, the SERAM RUN 2026 charity race stands out: an initiative involving around 100 participants that raised €1,620, fully donated to the Valencia-based NGO Payasospital, thus strengthening the connection between the event, the city, and its social fabric.

The participation of the SERAM Congress as the zero congress of the European project Zentropy MICE reinforces the role of large scientific congresses as ideal spaces to experiment with new forms of relationship and connection between professional events, host cities and sustainability.

This pilot experience has allowed the first real measurements of the impact of conferences on the urban environment to be implemented, moving towards a more conscious MICE tourism model, based on data and oriented towards a real and tangible legacy, which generates a direct return for the city and its citizens.

A European model of sustainable and replicable MICE tourism

Driven by the Tourism and Innovation Department of the Valencia City Council and developed in collaboration with the Valencia Conference Centre, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, València Innovation Capital, the Visit Valencia Foundation and the urban innovation studio Khora Urban Thinkers, Zentropy MICE aims to achieve a state of “zero entropy”, a scenario where the impacts generated by MICE events are transformed into a positive return in the form of knowledge, innovation, social cohesion and citizen well-being.

The model being developed in Valencia is designed to be replicable in other European cities, with Ljubljana (Slovenia), Heidelberg (Germany), and Larissa (Greece) acting as partner cities for learning and knowledge transfer. This approach further strengthens Valencia’s positioning as an urban laboratory and a European benchmark in sustainable MICE tourism.