Towards a Creative MICE Tourism Destination Branding Model: Integrating Heritage Tourism in New Orleans, USA

Abstract

MICE tourism had become a significant development tool for local economies before the COVID-19 outbreak. An effective destination brand is one way in which MICE stakeholders can work together to redesign and rebrand MICE tourism in the post-pandemic times. This study argues that heritage resources at a MICE destination add to the attractiveness of the business destination brand. This study proposes a Creative MICE Destination Branding Model (CMDBM) to examine co-created destination branding. The study shows that the core component of the CMDBM is based on MICE travelers’ evaluations of the destination’s potential to build brand equity by integrating its cultural/heritage resources as value-added attractions. The proposed CMDBM, amended based on the study results, indicates that the significance of the destination brand experience is enhanced because of cultural experiences and the support of local heritage institutions.