Quality Service Issues: a Multivariate Analysis of Association-Meeting Planner Perceptions of Caribbean Destinations

Effects of Destination Image on Meeting Participation Intentions: Empirical Findings from a Professional Association and its Annual Convention

“…Their findings disclosed that association members do have locational preferences, and if conferences were held in preferred destinations, turnout would be higher. However, many of these destination image studies were still based on the overall perceptions of meeting planners [Alkjaer, 1976;Bonn et al, 1994;Oppermann, 1996].…”

“…Researchers agree that destination image is of considerable importance, and associations can often build good attendance at their conventions and meetings by simply holding them at more favourably perceived destinations [Oppermann, 1995;Usher, 1991]. However, existing research on meeting destination image has been conducted mainly from the perspective of meeting planners [Baloglu and Love, 2001;Bonn et al, 1994;Edelstein and Benini, 1994;Go and Govers, 1999;Oppermann, 1996]. More importantly, although these studies have shed some light on the role of destination image in association meeting participation, these studies are methodologically descriptive, simply comparing turnouts at certain designated destinations, and thus they fail to identify the true causal relationship between destination image and association meeting participation [Oppermann and Chon, 1997].…”

“…For the last two decades, the growth of convention space matched and, in many cases, exceeded the pace of convention expansion [Jackson, 2002]. Thus, destination marketers must understand how each destination is perceived, not only individually, but with respect to the competition [Bonn et al, 1994].…”

Site Selection, Satisfaction, and Intent to Return: An Exploratory Study of the Perceptions of Rights Holders of Small-Scale Sporting Events

“…Bonn et al (1994) investigated the quality and service issues that most affect the attractiveness of 10 Caribbean destinations as perceived by U.S. meeting planners who have planned meetings in the Caribbean. Factor analysis produced 10 overall factors for 3 categories: 4 factor groupings (i.e., value conscious, service conscious, upscale oriented, and convenience oriented) for the facilities and services category; 4 factor groupings (i.e., water related, education oriented, land related, and environment related) for the recreation category; and 2 factors groupings (i.e., events oriented and entertainment oriented) for the entertainment category.…”

“…While some studies have examined site selection factors germane to the meetings and conventions industry (Bonn, Ohlin, & Brand, 1994;Hinkin & Tracey, 1998), less attention has been given to examining site selection factors within the context of small-scale sporting events. An exception to this are a few trade surveys conducted by SportsEvents Magazine, which, since 2006, has published the results of a limited survey of sport event rights holders concerning site selection, economic impact, and current trends in the sports event industry (O'Connor & Martin, 2009).…”