Study on the MICE selection attributes for face-to-face events in Post COVID-19 era using modified IPA - Focusing on a quarantine and safety management factor

Will Perceived Risk of COVID-19 Move Exhibition Visitors from On-Site to Virtual? Focusing on Exhibition Quarantine Service Quality and Switching Intention

“…COVID-19 quarantine service quality was measured by the ‘Quarantine and Safety Management Attributes’ developed and verified by Park and Hwang [ 2 ] based on the COVID-19 quarantine rules of the Korea Exhibition Industry Promotion Association, the world’s top 3 MICE organizations including UFI. The items of the COVID-19 quarantine service quality (see Table 2 ) were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).…”

“…The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), the International Convention Center Association (AIPC), and the International Convention Association (ICCA), which are representative international organizations in the MICE industry, jointly prepared as the quarantine guideline ‘The Addressing COVID-19 Requirements for Re-Opening Business Event’ [ 30 , 31 ]. In Korea, in order to hold on-site MICE as safely as possible from viruses, governments and organizations provide quarantine guidelines such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s guidelines for group event quarantine management, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s MICE event infectious disease management guidelines, and the Korea Exhibition Industry Promotion Association’s exhibition quarantine management acts [ 2 ].…”

“…In January 2022, CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics exhibition, held an on-site exhibition on a reduced scale, and the largest display exhibition in Europe, ISE, was postponed to March 2023. As such, the COVID-19 virus affected related industrial entities such as MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Convention, and Exhibition) and tourism by restricting movement to other regions, maintaining an appropriate distance between people, and restricting group activities, and further, is severely damaging the national economy and the global economy [ 1 , 2 ]. In Korea, most exhibitions were minimized or postponed for about 4 months right after the declaration of a pandemic, where the new virus was not well understood and there were no quarantine guidelines for exhibitions [ 3 ].…”

“…For exhibitions, however, the analysis continues that virtual spaces have not replaced on-site exhibition, and this will continue in the future [ 4 , 5 ]. This can be interpreted as it being difficult for virtual spaces to realize the intrinsic value provided by on-site exhibitions [ 2 , 4 ].…”