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。

A Literature Review of Research on Site Selection Criteria for Meeting and Exhibition Planners

The purpose of this work is to review empirical studies regarding the site selection process undertaken by meeting and exhibition planners, and to arouse academic concerns and upgrade the praxis of professional meeting planning in China. Based on understanding of the evolution process of site selection criteria, convention and visitors bureau and related personnel at meeting or exhibition destinations will be able to provide targeted, personalized service and information that planners most need when making their site selection decision. This will help planners to make more informed decisions in the selection of destinations and facilities, which can attract more conferences and exhibitions and eventually form a mutually beneficial cycle and enhance planners competitiveness.
A total of 27 known empirical studies related to meeting planners site selection criteria, published in major hospitality and tourism journals from 1977 to 2012, were collected by keyword searching from well-known databases, and these studies were content-analyzed. Each study was reviewed to document the various elements, and this was used to assess the state of research regarding meeting planners site selection criteria. The results show that of the 27 articles analyzed, 20 were published from 2000 to 2012, which accounts for 74.07% of all the research examined in this paper. The result also indicated that research regarding meeting site selection by planners has mainly focused on North America. With the growing importance of convention and exhibition activities, studies concerned with the Asia-Pacific region have gradually increased. Several relatively consistent findings of meeting site selection were also obtained here. Important selection criteria include the following the meeting/exhibition destination as well as the quality and performance of meeting space and hotel rooms; the costs including hotel rooms, meeting space, food and beverage and other costs; safety and security; available human resources. To be more precise, throughout the reviewed literature, meeting space size, hotel room quality, and the availability of facilities were consistently found to be important criteria during the meeting site selection process. As for evaluation of the conference/exhibition destination, most studies found that meeting planners mainly focus on the destination image, geographic location, environment, accessibility, and reputation for hosting successful conferences or exhibitions. Cost or affordability is often considered to be an important criterion in site selection. Because there are various costs, the costs at the conference or exhibition destination should be assessed as a whole. In addition, about half of the reviewed studies found that the safety and security of participants was a criterion identified as important to meeting planners. Finally, the review revealed that the cooperation, helpfulness, and service quality of convention or meeting staff and employees are important standards in the selection of meeting site. Therefore, it is necessary for meeting planners to investigate the available human resources prior to meeting venue selection and investment.
A discussion of the findings and suggestions for future research in the field of convention and meeting management are presented in this paper. It is asserted that cross-cultural research in this field, along with cooperation between stakeholders, should be given a great deal of attention.