Revisiting Determinants of Convention Participation Decision Making

ABSTRACT

In the midst of the unprecedented economic downturn, attracting a large number of attendees at annual conventions is more challenging than ever for associations and meeting planners. In order to boost attendance, an organization must understand what would be the factors affecting convention participation decision of potential delegates, and what would be the reasons to put a particular convention on the top of their must-attend list. This article empirically validated the key determinants of convention participation decision making that had arisen from previous studies, and further examined the relative influence of each factor on the convention participation intention. Four determinants were identified (networking, destination, travelability, education), and they are largely in line with the major factors that had been suggested in the extant literature. The findings of the study showed that “networking” and “travelability” factors significantly influenced the convention participation intention of the survey respondents. Several implications and convention marketing strategies for associations and meeting planners were discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Convention tourism
• association
• decision-making process
• participation intention