The meetings, incentives, conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism has inten-
sively 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 tour-
ism 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 ob-
tained, future lines of research related to innovation, digitalization, social networks,
and destination analysis are proposed for a better and more competitive manage-
ment of this tourism activity.
