An Exploratory Study of Attendee Perceptions of Green Meetings

Abstract

This article reports on the perceptions of convention attendees regarding green meetings. For this article, green meetings have been taken to mean those with sustainable practices and/or facilities. Attendees at four large conventions in Thailand were surveyed in order to gauge opinions on green meetings. Results suggest that broadly speaking, attendees are positive about green meetings, particularly attending meetings and staying in the same hotel; eating local food; and recycling notepaper from previous conferences. However, respondents were less positive about paying more for green meetings, similar to previous research. Additionally, this article emphasizes the importance of not considering attendees to be homogenous, and divides attendees into various convention participant roles, including delegates, organisers, exhibitors and sponsors. Significant differences were found between sponsors and other participant roles, particularly concerning the ambience or atmosphere of green meetings, perceived by sponsors as less attractive than non-green meetings. The article concludes by suggesting further areas of research regarding sustainability and business events.

KEYWORDS:

• sustainability
• green meetings
• conferences and conventions
• business events
• attendees

Acknowledgments

This article was selected for the International Convention & Expo Summit Best Paper Award which was sponsored by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Journal of Convention & Event Tourism. The Summit was held in Hong Kong from May 22–24, 2012. A full conference report is included in this issue.

Thank you Peter Warwick, Supattra Jaratohatohawan, Yada Tipsathiankul, Kuljitya Aksornpetra, Jiraporn Sukkrathok, Erland Hartveit, Joseph, Supaporn Rattanaphinanchai, and Somporn Luksanawannakul for their innovative ideas about questionnaire design and data collection. The authors would like to thank Khun Suprabha Moleeratanond and Prof. Dr. Dhirayos Wititsuwannakul for their constructive comments. This research was funded by Dr. Pornchai Mongkhonvanit, president of Siam University.