Exploring Content and Design Factors Associated with Convention and Visitors Bureau Web Site Development

Abstract

Convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) have become important organizations within the tourism industry. The International Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus (IACVB) reported that it represents approximately 500 destination management organizations in 30 countries (IACVB, 2003). As one of the most important components of the tourism industry in the United States, the Convention and Visitors Bureau performs various activities to facilitate destination marketing and development, with the aim of enticing leisure and convention customers to their particular city or region. Meanwhile, meeting planners are using technology to enhance their ability to produce and execute meetings that demonstrate a high return on investment. Consequently, CVBs' websites have enormous potential in selling a destination and facilitating the meeting/convention planning process. This paper explores the content and design factors associated with convention and visitors bureau web site development. It also demonstrates how planners utilize the Internet and CVB websites.     

Government Intervention in the Australasian Meetings,Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions Industry (MICE)

Abstract

The meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) industry in Australasia is continuing to expand, and for those working in the industry, its contribution to the economy is beyond doubt. The first section of the paper addresses the roles of governments in MICE and identifies the perceptions of the industry of government involvement. It makes recommendations on how industry can become more active in lobbying governments. The second section investigates the concept of market failure in the Australian MICE sector and identifies the schemes of Australian governments designed to assist the industry. The third section reports the findings of a survey of seven member organizations of the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (ACVB) and identifies government support schemes as well as problems facing the MICE industry in Asia.     

Crisis Management in Tourism

SUMMARY

Anticipating and preparing to deal with the threat of crises precipitated by disaster from natural and people-made catastrophes is an important challenge facing tourism. As an industry tourism is particularly susceptible to such negative events putting the sector under almost constant threat of a crisis. Before the catastrophes of 9/11 and the Asian Tsunami of 2004 crisis management in tourism was essentially a reactive response, as opposed to a state of proactive anticipation. A review of the emerging literature on crisis management in tourism is given to identify the foci of the current academic discourse. More systematic input by human resource management was identified as a way to assist tourism businesses in preparing for and dealing with crises. By discussing crisis management within a services management context, a contribution is made to the debate on the need for proactive crisis management within the tourism industry. A central plank to this position is that the preparation stage of crisis management in tourism is the actual beginning of any strategic response to recovery. Well conceived and executed human development is promoted as an initiative and key component of crisis preparation and management. Developing the potential of human capital at the industry and enterprise level to deal with crisis management is a way of reducing the vulnerability of tourism enterprises to crises. Measures are suggested that may be taken to prepare tourism businesses for crisis situations.     

Crisis Management and Tourism

Summary

Undoubtedly, the tourism industry is one of the most susceptible and vulnerable industries to crises. Recent major events that had devastating impacts on the industry ranges from natural disasters to epidemics, and from mismanagement to terrorist attacks. These kinds of episodes are not confined to any geographical region, as crises respect no political or cultural boundaries. Two major recent events illustrate this point: the BSE crisis in the UK in the 1990s, which was followed by the foot and mouth disease in 2000 and 2001, crippled the industry in several regions of England. Most recently, the events of September 11th in New York and Washington changed the way the industry operates forever. Crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, it has been observed that tourism management capability and ability to deal with complex and critical situations are limited.

This paper discusses the concept of crisis management and its relevance to tourism. It presents an overview of the general trends in tourism crises events of the last two decades, assesses the impacts of major man-made crises on the industry, and argues for the importance of crisis management in tourism management. The paper also discusses the complex issue of crisis definition and its implications for organizations, and provides an operational definition of crisis management. Critical issues in crisis management, such as crisis anatomy, crisis incubation, risk perception in tourism and destination image, are discussed. Finally, the paper explores and analyses, in the context of crisis anatomy, the public sector handling of a major resort pollution crisis in Southern Brazil.     

Developing a Research Agenda for Tourism Crisis Management,Market Recovery and Communications

SUMMARY

This article focuses on the need to develop a comprehensive research agenda for crisis management and market recovery in tourism. A review of the literature on research into risk, crisis and disaster management indicates that research has emerged on an ad hoc basis. Analysis of a database of over 2400 relevant references supports the need for a research agenda that will focus on crisis management and market recovery and communications, rather than prevention. The BEST Education Network research agenda on risk and crisis management for sustainable tourism is then presented as a basis for further development of a crisis management and market recovery research agenda. In particular, it elaborates on research issues related to the communication during tourism crises, assessing strategies for market recovery and understanding these issues from the DMO's perspective.     

Convention Centers as Staging Grounds for Disaster Recovery

Abstract

In the United States, three convention centers have recently found themselves in roles that they were not designed to fulfill-that of staging grounds for disaster recovery. In the case of the attacks on the World Trade Towers, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center served as a makeshift morgue and a staging area for recovery personnel. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, people flocked to New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center when breached levees and flooding left thousands homeless. Many of these evacuees from New Orleans were transported to Houston where they were temporarily housed at the George R. Brown Convention Center. In the future it is likely other convention centers will find themselves in similar situations, yet few of these facilities are prepared to serve as centers for disaster recovery. This paper suggests specific strategies convention center managers, along with their local coordinators of homeland security, should employ to prepare for the eventuality of natural and manmade disasters. It also considers amenities that should be built into convention centers so they are better prepared to serve in times of disaster. These efforts will be expensive and require expertise that is beyond the experience of most convention managers. As such these preparations will require coordination and funding at the state and federal levels.     

Crisis Management Planning to Restore Tourism After Disasters

SUMMARY

The tourism industry is vulnerable to natural and human induced incidents such as terrorist attacks, political instability, flood and earthquakes. On September 21st 1999, a devastating earthquake struck Taiwan which caused severe damage to both local people and the tourism industry. This paper proposes an innovative integrated approach that could be adopted as a crisis management plan for Taiwan to restore its tourism industry. A thorough review of the crisis management literature is introduced and examined to generate an integrated crisis management framework. It is anticipated that this framework could accelerate tourism recovery by showing secure images for tourists, and hence the competitiveness of a tourist nation could be enhanced through sound crisis management practices.     

Malaysia's Response to the Asian Financial Crisis

Summary

Tourism is a fragile industry and the damage caused by a crisis may have serious implications for a national economy. Crisis management is the means by which the impact of a crisis may be minimised and recovery assisted. This paper analyses the Malaysian response to the Asian financial crisis in the context of tourism and considers whether there is the potential for crisis management at a sectoral level, and if so how it should be developed and implemented. It concludes that although both the public and private sector recognise the need for such a measure, issues such as funding and the identification of appropriate indicators need to be resolved.     

Critical success factors for tourist destination governance in times of crisis: a case study of Antalya,Turkey

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to identify the critical success factors for the development of crisis management and strategy for the governance of the tourist destination of Antalya, Turkey. Data was obtained from in situ interviews, participant observation, and documentation. Interviews were conducted with the main tourism stakeholders representing both public and private sectors in Antalya. Findings show that the critical success factors of responsiveness, shared roles, strategy formation, and collaboration are vital for effective crisis management. The study also highlighted the fact that in the area of shared roles and collaboration, encompassing the characteristics of coordination, communication, cooperation, and knowledge transfer, stakeholders are proving ineffectual, thereby obstructing the development of necessary strategies for crisis management and the recovery process. Further, ineffective governance, adopted by local stakeholders, has had a substantial negative impact on the process of developing future effective crisis management strategies.     

Crisis Management in Small-Scale Tourism

Summary

Since the events of September 2001, many tourism academics, analysts, and corporations have displayed attention toward crises in the tourism industry. Most attention has focussed on how nations and large tourism corporations cope with unforseen crises. However, when crisis strikes, it is indiscriminate, affecting small-scale tourism businesses also. This article analyses some popular crisis management models, and their applicability to smaller scale businesses. The small island of Gili Air in Indonesia is examined, and the crisis management techniques employed by owners and operators of small and micro tourism businesses. The results indicate that while these businesses face similar issues resulting from crises, they are ill equipped to produce long-term solutions.     

Lifestyle Market Segmentation,Small Business Entrepreneurs,and the New Zealand Wine Tourism Industry

ABSTRACT

Wine tourism is an important niche activity for which participant needs and motivations have been somewhat under-researched. This paper describes a case study investigation to evaluate the nature of buyer/seller relationships that evolve in a wine tourism setting. Visitors to three small New Zealand wineries were interviewed to gather data relating to their lifestyle behaviors and their attitudes towards the wine tourism experience, and factor analysis used to categorize these visitors in terms of the List of Values typology of lifestyle characteristics. Results indicate that the 'achiever' and 'funlover' segments are well represented amongst winery visitors, but that there is an appreciably lower incidence of 'belonger' personalities. Implications of these findings for the wine tourism industry are considered.     

Convention Services Management in Sydney Four to Five Star Hotels

Abstract

Little empirical research has been conducted in the field of Convention Services Management within the hotel sector. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that sought to investigate the role and function of the convention services department and the convention services manager in four and five star hotels in Sydney.

It identifies the role of convention services and convention services management within this sector of the hotel industry. From a convenience sample of four and five star hotels within Sydney City District, data was obtained through face-to-face taped interviews supported by the use of a semi-structured questionnaire. Analysis of the data reveals a trend towards increasingly shorter lead times for conference bookings, an eclectic mix of personnel assuming the responsibility of the convention service department. The study confirmed, from those interviewed, that convention services management within these organisations remains firmly entrenched in the traditional structures; hierarchical with clearly segregated divisions by occupational specialisation.     

The Role of Market Orientation in Managing Crises During the Post-Crisis Phase

SUMMARY

The tourism business around the world, as one of the most susceptible and vulnerable sectors, must often manage and survive global crises. In recent years the global tourism industry has experienced major crises, such as terrorist attacks, political instability, economic recession, biosecurity threats and natural disasters. The most well-known cases bear testimony to the fact that crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, tourism management capabilities and abilities to deal with complex and critical situations are limited. The time has come to develop an understanding of factors that can help tourism businesses prepare a way of getting through such crises by examining the role of market orientation and its antecedents during a post-crisis phase. This paper is concerned with the effects of several organizational factors on market orientation in airlines during the post-crisis phase of the terrorist attacks of “9/11.” The results indicate that top management factors, interdepartmental factors and organizational systems have a positive effect on market orientation after a crisis has occurred.     

Tourism Crises and Marketing Recovery Strategies

SUMMARY

The recent frequency and intensity of crises and disasters affecting the tourism industry has resulted in a growing body of research into their causes, effects and management, as the bibliographies of the ensuing papers catalogue. To date, most papers and collections of research have taken a broad approach, describing the origins of a particular event which triggered a tourism crises, followed by an examination of the differential effects of the crisis on local residents, staff, tourists and tourism organizations or the environment and infrastructure. They have also discussed rescue efforts and the complexity of management tasks in the immediate aftermath of an event, often pointing to the need for preplanning to mitigate the consequences of any future disaster. Other researchers have contributed directly to the academic debate about how to theorise tourism crisis management, often by drawing on the wider crisis management literature.

The present collection of research differs in that it focuses on one phase of the tasks which managers face after the immediate consequences of a crisis have been dealt with. This phase addresses the question of how to rebuild the market for a tourism service or a destination which has experienced a significant catastrophe, and how to learn from the experience in planning for future crisis response strategies. It is suggested in this paper that the challenges are actually more varied and complex than is implied by the suggestion, found in much of the literature, that the task is about ‘restoring normality.’ The chaos and complexity experienced in the aftermath of a crisis raise general issues of how organizations learn and adapt to change.     

Crisis Management—

SUMMARY

This paper reviews the crisis preparedness of the Greek passenger shipping industry after two widely publicized crises events (Superfast III and Express Samina). As far as Greece is concerned, the travel and tourism industry is one of the most significant contributors to the country's GDP at a rate of more than 10% and the country's passenger shipping industry contributes fundamentally to this figure. Overall findings suggest that both the State as well as the passenger shipping companies encompass crisis management tools and mechanisms to protect the industry, and the whole Greek tourism sector. This paper also identifies the 'ripple effect,' the wider implications a crisis can have on the business environment. Therefore the Faulkner (2001a,b) model for tourism disaster management framework is adapted to accommodate permanent changes enforced on the whole industry as an outcome of a crisis situation.     

The Effect of Social Media on Reputation During a Crisis Event in the Cruise Line Industry

ABSTRACT

This research evaluates social media’s role in shaping perceptions of reputation during crisis management in a cruise line setting. Data were collected from respondents in the United States and Germany (N = 334) to explore the influence of speed and clarity of corporate response, brand familiarity, and cultural values on the perception of corporate reputation of a cruise line experiencing a crisis. Results indicated that speed of response using social media, brand familiarity, and cultural values of the respondent affected perceptions of corporate reputation of a cruise line after a crisis.     

Strategic Management of External Change in NSW Registered Clubs

ABSTRACT

This research examines how clubs strategically manage change resulting from alterations in their external environment. Specifically, this paper aims to investigate the marketing implications of recent legislative change arising from restrictions imposed on advertising and promotion of club gaming in one Australian state, the most populous state of New South Wales (NSW). Managers of three northern NSW clubs situated adjacent to the southern Queensland (QLD) border were interviewed to obtain primary data for this investigation. Results show that legislation restricting gaming advertising, promotion and external signage has caused difficulties in marketing these three clubs whose core product is gaming machines. Short-term results of revised marketing strategies indicate that club member numbers are steady but spending is unpredictable. Visitors are harder to attract, particularly new visitors.     

The multiplier impact of tourism in the okanagan

The primary objective of this study is to examine the economic impact of tourism on the Okanagan Region, (B.C., Canada), by evaluating the multiplier effects of tourist expenditure on the generation of income, sales and employment. Specifically, separate multipliers are calculated in order to identify the relative contribution of four major types of tourists, namely: (a) Non-residential Visitors, (b) Residential Visitors (B.C.), (c) Day-trippers, and for the first time, (d) Convention Delegates. This study utilizes the Archer tourism multiplier methodology by adopting a price level adjusted twenty-nine sector input- output framework as the basis for calculating the tourist multipliers. Unlike the earlier studies that are based on primary data, this study uses secondary data.     

Crisis Communication and Recovery for the Tourism Industry

Abstract

As the number of disasters and crises affecting the tourism industry increases, it is becoming necessary to understand the nature of these disasters and how to manage and limit the impacts of such incidents. This paper defines crises and disasters before discussing the area of crisis communication management and crisis communication in the tourism industry. The paper then applies the foot and mouth disease (FMD) which occurred in the United Kingdom to crisis communication theory at a national level (by examining the response of the British Tourist Authority) and at a local level (by examining the response of a District Council). The response was limited in part because of a lack of preparedness, but also due to the nature of the foot and mouth outbreak, and the speed and severity of international media coverage. Action was taken in the emergency phase of the crisis and was reactive involving inconsistency in developing key messages to stakeholders, partly due to confusion and a lack of information at the national level. Recovery marketing was also limited due to the length of time of the disease outbreak. This paper provides lessons for destinations and organisations are discussed which may help develop crisis communication strategies for tourism organisations.     

The Heart Recovery Marketing Campaign

SUMMARY

Crisis communication plans and marketing recovery campaigns are a key component of destination recovery after crises or disasters. Despite increasing researcher and practitioner interest in crisis and disaster management, further analysis of these components of recovery is warranted. This article contributes to this growing body of research by analysing the advertising components of a recovery marketing campaign developed and implemented immediately after bushfires in the Australian Capital Territory in 2003. The findings are drawn from relevant documents, marketing collateral and in-depth interviews with government agencies, professional associations and businesses. Despite a lack of relevant plans, the marketing campaign was an effective exercise in crisis communication under temporal and resource constraints and demonstrated application of research, rapid response, financial support, consistency of messages, honest and open communication and evaluation. Planning, training and further analytical case study research is recommended.