Abstract
Meetings, Incentive travel, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism is a significant component of tourism and economic development strategy in many countries, including South Africa. Despite its past downturn, the MICE sector is in its redevelopment and growth phase, with industry and academic focus shifting from recovery to resilience and sustainability, where stakeholder collaboration is recognised as a critical factor. This study explores how collaboration in the MICE sector acts as a catalyst for sustainability and resilience following crises. It examines the mechanisms driving successful partnerships, the role of knowledge sharing in sector recovery, and the key elements influencing collaboration. In doing so, the research utilised a qualitative approach and conducted in-depth interviews with key MICE sector stakeholders, including industry associations, MICE event suppliers, event planners, and governing authorities. The findings indicates that associations and governing bodies within the MICE industry were pivotal in creating recovery frameworks, enforcing health and safety measures, and participating in joint lobbying efforts. Moreover, strategic collaborations amongst MICE stakeholders were established in order to facilitate sector recovery and tackle challenges, such as financial difficulties, and the new MICE planning requirements and client expectations, and were motivated by several reasons, including the need for sharing resources, and gaining access to new technologies and addressing the skills shortages. Furthermore, the key factors that affect collaboration in the MICE sector include having shared goals, trust, and the exchange of knowledge. Overall, the results of this study reveal that collaborative efforts among stakeholders have played a pivotal role in enhancing the resilience of the MICE sector, extending from the organisational level to the broader industry landscape. In this regard, the study addresses an important research gap, as although numerous studies have focused on the resilience of tourism organisations and destinations, there has been limited research on stakeholder collaboration and resilience within the MICE sector, more especially in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study contributes to MICE tourism and resilience literature, MICE events management practice as well as policy and strategy formulation for a resilient MICE sector.