Perceptions of Convention Destinations

Abstract

This paper discusses the perceptions of North American convention destinations as held by association meeting planners. Based on a primary survey of meeting planners, it reveals distinct differences between the destinations. The comparative analysis of large-half and small-half meeting planners discloses a few significant differences with respect to which decision attributes are important in choosing a convention destination. However, hardly any differences exist in the perceptions of the destinations themselves between the two groups of meeting planners.     

An assessment of convention tourism's potential contribution to environmentally sustainable growth

The tourism literature contains substantial discussions on how increasing numbers of attendees and conventions at a destination contributes to the local economy, but there is limited research on the environmental impact of the concomitant increases in air and other travel, and other activity increases in energy and other resource use. This research assesses the current environmental position of the convention industry in the United States and formulates suggestions for future direction in regard to “green” concepts by examining and comparing the perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of three groups of convention stakeholders: convention attendees, meeting planners, and convention suppliers. This empirical study recognizes the critical problem of inadequate understanding of the environmental impact of convention activities and the lack of knowledge regarding ecological convention practices. It shows that the perception of environmental impact among the three groups varies depending on which environmentally friendly practices are available to each group. It discusses the background to – and the implications of – the emotional formation of decisions and self-motivation based on positive attitudes and the strong intention to adopt green management practices agreed to by convention stakeholders.     

Understanding convention attendee behavior from the perspective of self-congruity: The case of academic association convention

Based on the concepts of convention quality, multidimensional value, and behavioral intentions, the current study examines how distinctively convention attendees evaluate a convention when they perceive different levels of self-congruity (SC), that is, low versus high SC. Cluster and discriminant analyses are employed. The findings show that low-tiered SC attendees evaluate a convention negatively, whereas high-tiered SC attendees evaluate it positively. Furthermore, differently tiered SC attendees can be best discriminated by social networking, social value, and revisit intention. Given the potential significance of SC in attendee-based convention evaluation, understanding the distinction between differently tiered SC attendees enables convention planners to gain insight into how to cultivate and sustain high SC, thus promoting positive attendee attitude and preference toward conventions.     

An Exploratory Study of Convention Specific Social Media Usage by Attendees: Motivations and Effect of Generations on Choice of Convention Information Source and Intention to Use Mobile Application

While social media and mobile devices have grown as important tools of communication and marketing in the meeting industry, limited research has explored convention attendees’ perception of convention specific social networking media and what the motivations are for attendees’ adoption of using convention specific social media. This study aims to identify convention attendees’ motivations of using convention specific social media and demands of convention specific mobile applications. This study also investigated how attendees’ generation affects their selection of convention information sources and attitude toward mobile applications. Based on the identified key motivations of using convention specific social media, convention organizers need to build social media that provide up-to-dated convention information as well as a functionality of building community among attendees. The findings also show that generation affects the choice of convention information source and intention of mobile applications usage. This study identified the most demanded convention mobile applications including, exhibitor directory search, convention floor plan, and convention itinerary planner. This study can be used as a basis for more extensive examinations of the use of social media in conventions and for empirical testing of convention attendees’ attitudes toward convention social media and mobile applications.     

会展场馆选择标准研究述评——基于会议策划者视角

文章的主要目的在于对与国外会议策划者选址过程相关的实证性研究文献进行回顾,以期引起对该领域的关注,并推进我国会展业策划实践。文章通过对关键词的搜索,从外文数据库中选取1977～2012年的27篇与会议策划者选址相关的公开出版文献,对这些文献进行述评并梳理每篇文献中会议策划者的选址标准。研究结果发现,目的地及目的地酒店及会展场馆设备设施的质量和性能、成本、安全和人力资源是会议策划者最重要的选址标准。最后,针对现有研究不足提出了未来可能的研究方向,结合我国国情和文化特色从跨文化研究和利益相关者合作角度提出建议。     

The Great Halls of China? Meeting Planners’ Perceptions of Beijing as an International Convention Destination

This research focused on meeting planners’ perceptions about selecting Beijing as an international convention destination. Twenty-three convention destination site selection criteria organized into five categories were identified. It was found that, with respect to Beijing, the importance of site selection criteria has changed since the late 1990s, with meeting planners now attaching more weight to the quality of convention services, quality of convention planning assistance, and city image. The meeting planners who had previously held international conventions in Beijing attached greater importance to research and development cooperation opportunities and choice of accommodations than those who had not. They rated Beijing's performance lower on the convenience of the application process (required by Chinese governments) and government support. It was concluded that Beijing needs to improve most on the quality of convention services and convention planning assistance, and by relaxing government policies related to the holding of international conventions.     

Association meeting planners’ loyalty to hotel chains

Many associations alternate the location of their annual convention. Hotel chains can have a significant advantage over independent hotels in that respect due to their network of properties across the country and the consequent potential for cross selling. This study explores the relationship between association meeting planners and hotel chains, with a particular focus on loyalty issues. It investigates meeting planners’ reasons for being loyal to a specific hotel chain and their future intentions. Hotel practices, features, and benefits that planners regard as important in developing loyalty to a chain are identified. Performance ratings for these attributes are then established, and contrasted with importance ratings, highlighting opportunities for hotel chains to improve relations with loyal planners.     

An examination of green intention: the effect of environmental knowledge and educational experiences on meeting planners’ implementation of green meeting practices

Environmental sustainability has become an important concern in staging meetings and events. This paper introduces the Convention Industry Council's Green Meetings Report and goes on to investigate whether prior knowledge and educational experiences related to environmental sustainability are influential factors in planners’ commitment to engaging in ecologically friendly behavior. Using a nine-point questionnaire, 278 delegates at North America's largest one-day event for meeting planners were sampled. Regression analysis showed that the intention to implement green meeting practices is positively influenced by both prior knowledge of and educational experience with greening practices. In particular, educational experiences were found to be a strong influential factor contributing to meeting planners’ intention to implement green meeting practices. By providing operational definitions of knowledge and education, it proves that knowledge gained by an unstructured format was less effective than the impact of education on green intention. Accordingly, this study not only highlights academic discussions on environmental knowledge-building through formal education but also derives managerial implications for the meeting and event industry by outlining ways to incorporate continuing professional education in sustainable meetings and events. A range of ideas for the content of that professional education is presented, along with the possibilities for e-learning.     

基于旅游生命周期理论的历史文化街区居民身份认同对旅游发展意向的影响研究

研究以旅游生命周期理论为基础，以武汉市9个处于不同旅游生命周期的历史文化街区为研究区域，通过质性数据分析探讨了居民身份认同对其旅游发展意向的影响，并对处于不同旅游生命周期的街区进行了比较分析。研究发现：居民身份认同主要从情感因素、经济因素、社会环境因素、旅游发展要素、文化因素等方面对其旅游发展意向产生影响；依据身份认同强弱与旅游发展意向正负的交互组合，可将居民分为4种认同-意向类型：积极拥护者、传统坚守者、经济至上者和无为参与者；在不同旅游生命周期阶段的历史文化街区，居民身份认同对其旅游发展意向的影响各异：在参与和巩固阶段街区，传统坚守者突出；在发展阶段街区，积极拥护者占主导；在巩固阶段街区，积极拥护者和无为参与者兼而有之，且二者冲突尤为激烈。最后，针对不同旅游生命周期阶段居民的类型和特征，提出了促进居民参与街区旅游发展与保护的建议。     

Meeting Planners’ Competency,Motivation, and Benefits: The Case of Korea

The role of meeting planners is essential to the successful completion of a meeting. Their involvement includes coordinating every detail of a meeting, such as budgeting, solicitation of sponsorship, preparation of request for proposals, reservation of facilities or services, translation, and interpretation. Despite meeting planners’ significance, no real effort has been made to identify their competencies, motivations, and benefits. In this study, six competency, four motivation, and two benefit domains were identified. The most important competency domain was the “ability to understand social trends and good manners,” whereas the “ability to perform foreign languages” domain was a relatively low-importance competency. Regarding the benefits, the respondents showed appreciation for opportunities to globalize and gain social recognition by becoming a meeting planner. Compared with the female respondents, the male respondents believed that they had a higher level of evaluative knowledge regarding current competency and specialized expertise.     

Meeting planners’ use and evaluation of convention and visitor bureaus

The MICE industry represents one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry. Yet, it is only in recent years that the economic contribution of this industry segment has been recognized and the relationships among the various industry players have been examined in more depth. This study focuses on the relationship between meeting planners and convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs). Results of the study indicate that association meeting planners utilize CVBs more frequently than corporate planners. Meeting planners mainly use free rather than fee-based CVB services, with destination information and referral services being the most popular. The desire to deal directly with suppliers represents the major reason for meeting planners bypassing CVBs in their convention/meeting planning. Implications of the study results are discussed.     

Understanding Associations and Their Conference Decision-Making Processes

Abstract

A critical question for organizations and businesses involved in destination marketing and the provision of services for conferences and meetings is how associations decide where to hold their conferences and meetings. An understanding of these decision-making processes could provide valuable insights into how a destination can best promote themselves to this sector. The aims of the study presented in this paper were to identify the decision processes of association conference planners and to explore the attributes that they consider important when organizing a conference. The study used in-depth interviews with association conference organizers who had either planned an event in a regional Australian center during 2003 or who were currently in the process of planning for a future event to be held in that destination. The interviews revealed that while similar attributes were important to all planners, their importance differed between different types of associations. Major findings from the study included the importance of the bid process and the use of committees for the planning and organizing of tasks. Budget constraints were also a major component of the decision-process, as a majority of the associations studied were non-profit organizations. The venue was the most important attribute regarding the decision of host destination. The study concludes with an expanded model for convention planner decision processes based on Crouch and Ritchie's 1998 model.     

Convention tourism modelling

This paper introduces an approach for identifying the determinants of convention attendance at alternative cities. This approach permits planners to evaluate the relative importance of accessibility and attractiveness variables as determinants of convention attendance for each site. Four major convention sites in the USA are analysed to illustrate the procedure. In this example, accessibility was found to be far more important than attractiveness.     

Study on the Degree of Importance of Convention Service Factors

ABSTRACT

As customers come to understand that service is one of the most important industry products, identifying customer needs and providing what they want will be essential to a successful approach in service-related industries. In consideration of the increased importance of service in the convention industry, this article identifies convention service factors and provides statistical analysis based on data from the actual industry. The results of this research will enhance an understanding of the factors used by customers to evaluate the quality of convention service and help planners improve their performance in the planning of conventions.     

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.     

Determinants of convention attendees’ willingness to pay for additional programs

Abstract

Prior to developing addition programs in a convention a convention organizer wants to identify attendees’ willingness to participate in the program. One of the most important factors which lead to their participation is price. Therefore, this study aimed to explore factors which can determine convention participants’ willingness to pay for additional programs. According to the results of binary logistic regression analysis, attendees who wanted to expand their knowledge and socialization showed a willingness to pay for extra programs for post-conference local tours. Based on investigating the significance level (p?<?.001) women showed a higher intention to pay for the extra programs than men did. Those who had their own company had a higher intention to pay for the 1:1 private golf lesson with a former LPGA star than did those who were working for a private company or others. Results of this study help development of additional programs in a convention.     

A Refined Model of Relationship Selling Between Meeting Planners and Suppliers

This study proposes and tests a newly refined model of relationship selling in the context of meeting planners and suppliers in the Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exhibition (MICE) industry. Results showed that newly added variables—social bonds with the supplier and meeting planners' attitudinal intention to maintain relationships with the supplier—had significant positive effects on the relationship selling construct; while both willingness and power of the supplier were neither related to meeting planners' perceived trust nor satisfaction. This refined model could provide research insights and guide future research on key relationship selling constructs between meeting planners and suppliers in the MICE industry.     

What factors influence Generation Y’s employee retention in the hospitality industry?: An internal marketing approach

Individuals from Generation Y are entering into the hospitality job market, but little is known about their intention to remain in the hospitality business. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors affect a Generation Y employee’s intention to remain with a hospitality company with respect to internal marketing tactics. Qualtrics, an online survey service company, was used to distribute and collect a self-administered questionnaire survey. A theoretically proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results of this study indicated that “work environment” significantly influence Generation Y employees’ job satisfaction, followed by “empowerment,” “pay,” and “relationships with managers,” which in turn, influences “employee commitment” and “intention to remain in hospitality business.” The implications of the study are discussed.     

From the Eyes of an Exhibitor

Abstract

Conferences and conventions often depend on event/convention planners to produce spectacular tradeshows to support their programs. A study which focused on exhibitor needs and the perceived benefits of participation was conducted during the winter of 1999 at an International Arts Convention in the eastern United States. Exhibitors' interests in convention participation fell into four primary areas: making contacts, gaining information, gaining visibility, and booking/selling a product or service. Understanding the areas of importance to exhibitors and the services/products that are necessary for them to achieve success can go a long way toward providing a meaningful experience and an avenue for communication for both convention exhibitors and planners.     

Kelo

Abstract

Cities spend billions of dollars to build or expand convention centers (Sanders, 2005). To cities with ailing downtowns, the lure of the convention business has long been something coveted by local politicians as a means to rejuvenate these markets. Now local governments wishing to expand their convention business by rejuvinating an ailing downtown market, and thus making their citiy more attractive to convention planners, may have another weapon in their arsenal in the form of “public use” under government's eminent domain power.