Current challenges and alignment options for German MICE destinations to increase competitiveness after Corona

ABSTRACT The fight against COVID-19 in Germany up to now has led to the highest financial debts for cities and state governments in the last 30 years. German cities (partly together with federal states) own infrastructures such as fair halls, fairgrounds or international airports; therefore, this is a relevant issue for meetings, conventions, incentives and exhibition (MICE) industries. MICE tourism will recover much slower than general tourism and those debts will even increase during the next years. So, this might lead to the need for change in MICE strategy and infrastructure in some or even many cities. This may also become (or even already is) a risk for Germany’s function and image as one of the top three countries for international MICE tourism, especially for international fairs and conferences – and due to that, this might also lead to international changes. The paper discusses whether German cities should reinvest, change/focus positioning or abandon the MICE market and its infrastructure to become more competitive as well with every city but also as an internationally recognized MICE-country.