Recovery and growth strategies for a MICE company amidst the COVID-19 crisis and post-pandemic implications

In 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Indonesia declared the situation as a national disaster. Over the past years variants emerged. During these years, companies faced business disruption, and some had to close as measures involving distancing, travel, gatherings, and lockdowns were enforced. These measures also endangered the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector. This paper presents a study of the business issues faced by a Professional Conference Organizer (PCO), which like other MICE companies, faced difficulties amidst the pandemic which at the time of this writing has not yet ended. For these issues this study developed business strategies towards recovery, adaptation and growth in the current and post-pandemic era. The studied companies faced revenue decrease, competition and uncertainty. To survive, these companies had to raise capital, reduce manpower and salaries. In addition, the shifting to virtual formats poses a threat. Hence, strategies concerning pricing, segmentation focus and resilience are evaluated against the current and expected conditions. Some key recommendations of this study include expanding focus to a broader segment, R&D and diversification.Keywords: business disruption, COVID-19, diversification, events, Indonesia, MICE, pandemic, PCO, resilienc