Conference Tourism Quality Evaluation Of Empirical Research

MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions) industry is one of the most fast-growing segments in tourism worldwide. In recent years, more and more global economic conventions and industrial meetings selected Shanghai as the host, implying the prosperous development of convention tourism in Shanghai. Moreover, convention tourism product has been a key element of urban tourism system of Shanghai. This thesis constructed the evaluation scale for convention tourism quality, based on which main factors of convention tourism quality evaluated by delegates were abstracted, and then explored the reasons determing their evaluation. Previous research on convention tourism was scarce, not to mention those from the view of delegates constituting the biggest group of convention tourists. From this point, this empirical study could not only contribute to convention tourism research pool, but also shed light on the improvement of convention tourism in Yangpu district as well as in Shanghai as an international convention destination.Guiding by the spirit of empirical studies, this thesis took advantage of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Combined literature riview, indepth interview and reference to current questionnaires, the specific questionnaire was administered, which was used for the on-site survey on campus and in hotels in Fudan-centered university areain Yangpu District, Shanghai from September, 2007 to April, 2008. The survey was conducted by the author, targeting international convention or meeting delegates. In total, 573 questionnaires were returned with an response rate of 95.5%, among 486, or 84.4% were usable. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis of the collected data were performed on SPSS 15.0 for windows.Results suggested that the biggest ration of delegates participating in international conferences in Fudan centered univerisity area in Yangpu District, Shanghai were researchers or experts in their industris. With regard to their convention participating behaviors, they took part in convetion tourism mostly because they were invited as a presenter/host. Except for registration fees covered by their research fundings or serving organiztions, they spend little on accomadation and leisure activities. In addition, they were seldom accompanied and pre- or post-convention activities involved during convention tourism.Analysis on convention tourism quality evaluation scale illustrated that the main factors delegates evaluating convention tourism qualilty could be summarized as convention tourism destination, convention program, convention facility and service and convention venue, which highly relates to overall satisfaction, behavioral intentions and their perceived values of convention tourism. Besides, times of delegates participating in international conventions in Shanghai and their educational levels were found significantly related to and contributed to their evaluation convention tourism destination, thus on their evaluation on the whole convention tourism quality.Suggestions on strategies to improve convention tourism quatlity in Fudan-centered univeristy area in Yangpu District and in Shanghai as an international convention center were proposed based on empirial resutls. Limitations lied on sampling method and the facotors or items selected as the evaluation constituits and their determing reasons, which were expected to be further explain in future studies.