Annotated Bibliography on Convection Tourism

Convention tourism is one of the largest sectors in the tourism industry. Conventions bring cities/venues significant revenue. It is because of these facts that destinations and venues compete with one another in hopes to be selected by planners. This annotated bibliography will showcase some academic journals as well as other research findings to help us get a better idea of what influences planners to choose their host destination.

Crouch, G. I., & Louviere, J. J. (2004). The Determinants of Convention Site Selection: A Logistic Choice Model from Experimental Data. Journal of Travel Research, 43(2), 118–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287504268233

This article is interesting as it wants to answer 3 basic but vital questions. What is the role of the site in site selections? What attributes contribute to that decision and if it was an association group how would that influence be different? To find these answers the team utilized Random utility theory better known as RUT. RUT was originally used in 1920 and been advanced in the 70s. RUT is this theory on how to create preferences into an observable/measurable system while conversely also creating the opposite an unexplainable random entity. Using this method, a series of 25 interviews were had, suggesting a Hypothetical host city based on 20 attributes. Once the hypothetical system was created, the team used the theory in a more practical sense. 86 meeting planners were then given a survey and provided 1376 observations. In the end, they found that one of the biggest influences was the closeness to the site was to the participants (2.5-hour flight max). Interestingly the cost of airfare wasn’t as important as distance. The second highly required aspect was having accommodations connected to the convention space.

Davidovitch, N., & Eckhaus, E. (2018). The Influence of Birth Country on Selection of Conference Destination – Employing Natural Language Processing. Higher Education Studies, 8(2), 92-96. doi:10.5539/hes.v8n2p92

This study addresses two questions how does your birth country influence your convention site selection and how do nonnative V.S native languages areas influence your site selections?  Davidovitch did this case study on a single university in Israel that absorbed many immigrant scientists from the former USSR in the 1990s. Ninety-four academic faculty members from various departments answered the questionnaire, of them 60.9% women and 39.1% men. The questionnaire consisted of 6 open-ended questions asking about options on conferences as well as some demographic screening. Some of the key findings were, participants born in Israel are more oriented to seeking cooperation than those born in the USSR. Conversely, researchers born in the USSR select conferences based on the theme and topics more than those born in Israel. Perhaps the most interesting information was scholars who focus on cooperation are more inclined to select conferences in the US. This paper was not what I personally was expecting. I assumed as humans are creatures of habit the base study would get results staying closer to home but instead. It showed more pollical influence if anything and how exploratory the groups are, which were very close to how the countries run themselves. I think this test should be done throughout the world to better understand nationalities logic and understanding of cooperation. This implication would not only serve the convention industry but could serve the pollical, government sector of the world as well. This study was interesting as It went against Crouch’s data that most people chose destinations based on distance (2.5 hours max). However, this was looking at academic groups which appear to be motivated by different factors.

Huo, Y. (2014). Association Meeting Planners Perceptions on Convention Destination Attributes: Empirical Evidence from Six Major Asian Convention Cities. The Journal of Business Inquiry, 13(2), 70-80. doi:10.1300/j143v03n01_02

In Huo’s study, he wanted to see how planners choose their destination (attributes) from a sample of 6 major Asian cities (Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore) The test group came from the CMP Conclave, which is the industry’s only exclusive meeting of CMPs (CIC, 2010) having the top planners in the industry, 150 survey forms were distributed to the CMP Conclave attendees and a sample of 61 (40.7 percent) were returned from the meeting planners. Statistics using frequency distribution and mean performance scores showed that Tokyo is ranked as the first preference followed by Hong Kong. This conclusion was based on a few attributes. From the meeting rooms themselves, space size and its availability were ranked as most important followed by, condition and quality. Other areas looked at the host city, accommodation, cost, local support and more. This article unlike all the others not only showed us desirable attributes but showcased them in a real-world competitive setting.

J. Dana Clark PhD, Michael R. Evans EdD & Bonnie J. Knutson PhD (1998) Selecting a Site for an Association Convention, Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, 5:1, 81-93, DOI: 10.1300/J150v05n01_07

Convention site selection is huge as it has a significant role in the local economy. This article looks at how the decision process is made between members and the association planners on selecting a convention site. Figuring out the sociology between group dynamics and other various factors and influences. During this study, the team conducted 23, 2-hour long interviews in the association capital of the country Washington DC. These interviews were taped and evaluated to see if a Kohli’s typology of power (7 types Reward, Coercive, Referent, Legitimate, Information, Expert and Departmental) were found within the associations buying centers. Of the 108 variables found in the 23 buying decisions, 37% were based in power. These results were consistent with French & Raven’s 1959 and 1989 study and creation of a typology of power. Through this testing, the team has gathered that convention sites need multiple types of power marketing strategies and to be successful figuring out what type of power your associating is and what’s the best action to better serve them and influence your destination. I choose this dated study because unlike the others it went into this other facet of the equation that I believe the modern sources hadn’t considered. This article was more on the physiology side of the decision-making process and the unique social and hierarchy structures in associations buying centers.

Terzi, M. C., Sakas, D. P., & Seimenis, I. (2013). International Events: The Impact of the Conference Location. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 73, 363-372. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.02.063

This study focuses solely on the criteria of the conference location. This included looking at a variety of characteristics locations have. For example, climate, infrastructure, transportation, security, etc. If a location meets all the factors will it have a correlation to the amount of participation and therefore be more sought after by planners? To conduct their research questionnaires, based on the five-point Likert Scale, were sent to 123 students. While most of the criteria all scored high marks (4s and 5s) in order to differentiate using the samples from the 123-student using a dynamic simulation model they were able to quantify more of a key factor. What was gathered was 74% of the sample said safety and security along with infrastructure were the most important factors to them regarding a location. This information is important as Its arms destinations with information and way to better market themselves to their potential clients. Terzi’s study just showed us what factors decisions and while that is great for marketing. Compared to Hou’s study who utilized his finding in a real-world implication I feel that analyzing these attributes among the competition is much more effective in finding a real differentiator to help promote your destination.

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In conclusion, the results from these cases are vindictive of one common core value. Which is there are numerous attributes/factors whether it’s from the destination or planners’ groups itself. That we measure to help us decided if one destination is better than the other for our event. If destinations want to gain the upper hand understanding these factors and catering towards the human aspects will serve them well to get business.