Conference tourism: What do we know about the business tourist in South Africa?

Abstract

There is scant empirical evidence on the decision-making processes of business tourists in South Africa. With only limited local scholarship available on business tourism this paper aims to fill a gap on conference tourism in South Africa by discussing the motivation, experience, perception and non-conference related experiences of a sample of delegates who attended two international conferences in Cape Town, South Africa. The direct economic benefit of conference tourism in South Africa is also determined.

Keywords: Business tourism, conference tourism, MICE, repeater visits, conference participation, decision making process.