Abstract
Academic tourism refers to local and international travel by academics, researchers and students who visit different locations primarily for educational purposes. Academic tourism includes conferences and seminars that provide opportunities for academics to present research papers, network, develop professionally and expand their academic and research horizons. Academics must conduct and publish research in journals and present papers at conferences. The International Business Conference (IBC) has been hosted for the past 17 years in different locations in Southern Africa and has been attended by over 2000 academics and researchers.
The objective of this study is to determine the perceptions of the delegates who have attended IBC conferences in the past years. The study used mixed methods and the quantitative data were statistically analysed. The qualitative responses were thematically analysed, including an analysis by ChatGPT and Claude. All 58 respondents attended one or more IBC conferences the past years. The Theory of Events was used to develop a model for academic conference events. The findings indicate that most of the respondents enjoyed the international locations where the conferences were held, specifically Mauritius. The respondents indicated that the conferences were well organised, provided an opportunity for networking and a platform for younger researchers to present their research. The findings identify the factors conference organisers need to consider when planning and organising a conference. The findings contribute to the latest knowledge on the still under-researched field of academic tourism.