Abstract

This research aims to develop an applied framework for conference tourism competitiveness since it is evident that there is a limited view of how conference delegates assess attributes contributing to conference tourism. From the literature and industry stakeholder input, conference competitiveness themes and attributes were identified and included in a self-administered questionnaire. Survey data was collected from 300 conference delegates in South Africa. The study applied the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach, a methodological approach not previously applied in a conference tourism context. A three-level evaluation structure was constructed with four main factors and 26 sub-factors. It was further established that although destination and conference competitiveness have similar attributes, conference tourism has its own set of unique attributes, which differs in terms of the level of importance for the conference sector. This finding supports the development of the conference competitiveness framework. The findings concluded that conference competitiveness from the view of delegates is influenced by environmental practices as well as political and economic stability being important attributes. Destination attributes such as weather and infrastructure were mentioned as the least important attributes, the rating of which are the opposite of the destination competitiveness attributes. The findings indicated that the AHP methodology is a valuable tool to analyze conference tourism competitiveness.

摘要

本研究旨在开发会议旅游竞争力的应用框架，因为很明显，人们对会议代表如何评估有助于会议旅游的属性的看法有限。根据文献和行业利益相关者的意见，确定了会议竞争力的主题和属性，并将其包含在一份自填问卷中。调查数据收集自南非的 300 名会议代表。该研究应用了层次分析法 (AHP) 方法，这是一种以前未在会议旅游环境中应用的方法。构建了具有4个主要因素和26个子因素的三级评价结构。进一步确定，尽管目的地和会议竞争力具有相似的属性，会议旅游有其自身的一套独特属性，这些属性因会议部门的重要性而异。这一发现支持会议竞争力框架的发展。调查结果得出的结论是，从代表的角度来看，会议竞争力受到环境实践以及政治和经济稳定性的影响，这些都是重要的属性。天气和基础设施等目的地属性被认为是最不重要的属性，其评级与目的地竞争力属性相反。研究结果表明，AHP 方法是分析会议旅游竞争力的宝贵工具。这一发现支持会议竞争力框架的发展。调查结果得出的结论是，从代表的角度来看，会议竞争力受到环境实践以及政治和经济稳定性的影响，这些都是重要的属性。天气和基础设施等目的地属性被认为是最不重要的属性，其评级与目的地竞争力属性相反。研究结果表明，AHP 方法是分析会议旅游竞争力的宝贵工具。这一发现支持会议竞争力框架的发展。调查结果得出的结论是，从代表的角度来看，会议竞争力受到环境实践以及政治和经济稳定性的影响，这些都是重要的属性。天气和基础设施等目的地属性被认为是最不重要的属性，其评级与目的地竞争力属性相反。研究结果表明，AHP 方法是分析会议旅游竞争力的宝贵工具。天气和基础设施等目的地属性被认为是最不重要的属性，其评级与目的地竞争力属性相反。研究结果表明，AHP 方法是分析会议旅游竞争力的宝贵工具。天气和基础设施等目的地属性被认为是最不重要的属性，其评级与目的地竞争力属性相反。研究结果表明，AHP 方法是分析会议旅游竞争力的宝贵工具。