The impact of social changes on MICE tourism management in the age of digitalization: a bibliometric review

The meetings, incentives, conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism has intensively grown in recent decades. The MICE sector has also been strongly affected by social and technological changes, especially new social habits resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research maps the state of the art in MICE tourism and its digitalization from 1997 (first published article found on the subject) to 2022, as well as the changes brought about by COVID-19 to the management of MICE tourism. To identify the main changes caused by COVID-19 pandemic in MICE tourism management, we carried out a survey based on surveys with Conference managers, Exhibition and Trade Fair Centers, and Convention Bureaus in Spain, a leading country in MICE tourism worldwide. For this purpose, we carried out a survey based on surveys with managers of Conference, Exhibition and Trade Fair Centers and Convention Bureaus in Spain, a leading country in MICE tourism worldwide, to identify the main changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in the management of this type of tourism. Based on the results obtained, a bibliometric analysis was carried out using the software SciMAT to find out the thematic evolution of the terms MICE tourism, digital and Business Tourism. This study identifies the most significant topics in MICE tourism management during the pre-pandemic period (1997–2019), the pandemic, and post-pandemic period (2020–2022). We also analyzed the most cited concepts during 1997–2019, as well as their evolution towards other concepts in 2020–2022. Considering the results obtained, future lines of research related to innovation, digitalization, social networks, and destination analysis are proposed for a better and more competitive management of this tourism activity.