Tourism and Meeting Incentive Convention Event (MICE) tourism in Europe, systemic shock, structural transformations and resilience

International Congress Tourism, Adaptability, and Societal and Technological Transformations in the Pandemic Crisis

“…This includes fostering partnerships between DMOs, metropolitan governance, universities, event and tourism stakeholders, and congress tourists. A collaborative approach can facilitate knowledge sharing, skill development, and the introduction of new technologies (Christofle, 2023).…”

“…Sustainability and Technological Focus: Incorporate sustainability principles and technological advancements into the agile congress metropolitan system. This includes aligning with the goals of smart tourist destinations (Buhalis et al, 2014;Boes et al, 2015;Boes et al, 2016;Bastidas-Manzano et al, 2021) and smart tourism cities (Gretzel, 2021;Christofle 2023), integrating sustainable practices, and leveraging technological solutions to enhance efficiency and adaptability.…”

“…Congress tourism is a specific form of event tourism, different from leisure tourism in terms of how it operates, its clientele, and its key players (Weber & Chon, 2002;Getz & Page, 2016;Getz & Page, 2020;Christofle & Fournier, 2023). Congress tourism is included in MICE (Meeting Incentive Congress/Convention Event) Tourism, which encompasses all travel and stays related to entrepreneurial and associative events, such as commercial, business, training, educational, research, reward, stimulation, or team-building activities (Trišić & Arsenov-Bojović, 2018;Christofle, 2023). Within this classification, congress tourism primarily consists of meetings and congresses, which are non-commercial events with the purpose of education, research, discussion, and relationship-building among participants with shared interests (Weber & Chon, 2002;Christofle, 2014;Getz & Page, 2016;Getz & Page, 2020;Christofle & Fournier, 2023).…”

“…The crisis has not been explored, and its contemporary consequences have been on the congress system, stakeholders, and territories (Lončarić et al, 2022). Therefore, it is crucial to examine the shock absorption measures implemented by international congress tourism stakeholders in response to the pandemic crisis and assess whether they acted with agility (Kalaignanam et al, 2021) or demonstrated innovative approaches in line with the global transformation of the sector (Gössling et al, 2020;Brozović & Saito, 2022), including digitization and an increased emphasis on sustainability principles (Brozović & Saito, 2022;Christofle, 2023;Morrison & Coca-Stefaniak, 2023).…”