Series editors ................................................. ix
Series preface ................................................. xi
Forewords .................................................... xiii
Preface ...................................................... xvii
List of case studies .......................................... xix
1 A global industry ............................................ 1
Introduction ................................................. 1
The origins of the conference industry ....................... 2
The foundations of a proper industry ......................... 4
The industry's recent globalisation .......................... 9
World rankings of leading cities and countries .............. 10
Certain industry shortcomings ............................... 15
Industry parameters and definitions ......................... 22
Business tourism and leisure tourism ........................ 26
The benefits of conference and business tourism ............. 27
Summary ..................................................... 30
Review and discussion questions ............................. 31
Notes and references ........................................ 32
Further reading ............................................. 32
2 The structure of the conference industry .................... 33
Introduction ................................................ 33
The buyers .................................................. 34
The suppliers ............................................... 53
Agencies and intermediaries ................................. 60
Other important organizations ............................... 74
Summary ..................................................... 77
Review and discussion questions ............................. 78
Notes and references ........................................ 78
3 The economics of conferences and conventions ................ 81
Introduction ................................................ 81
Conferences and conventions within the wider tourism
context ..................................................... 82
Factors affecting conference sector demand .................. 83
The inadequacy of the information base ...................... 86
The size of the global conference industry .................. 87
The value of the industry ................................... 88
Research findings ........................................... 95
Summary .................................................... 110
Review and discussion questions ............................ 111
Notes and references ....................................... 111
4 Conference industry marketing activity ..................... 113
Introduction ............................................... 113
Marketing principles ....................................... 114
Relationship marketing and customer relationship
management ................................................. 124
Web marketing .............................................. 127
A definition of destination ................................ 130
The branding of cities and other destinations .............. 130
Destination marketing organizations ........................ 135
Conference venue marketing ................................. 161
The branding of hotel venues ............................... 163
Overseas marketing ......................................... 166
Summary .................................................... 167
Review and discussion questions ............................ 167
Notes and references ....................................... 168
Further reading ............................................ 169
5 Conference management - an organizer's perspective ......... 171
Introduction ............................................... 171
A general introduction to conference organizing ............ 172
Pre-conference planning and research ....................... 174
Budgeting and financial management ......................... 179
Sourcing and selecting a venue ............................. 184
Negotiating with venues .................................... 191
Programme planning ......................................... 194
Event marketing ............................................ 195
Conference management and production ....................... 197
Event evaluation ........................................... 199
Summary .................................................... 201
Review and discussion questions ............................ 202
Notes and references ....................................... 203
Further reading ............................................ 203
6 Conference management - a venue perspective ................ 205
Introduction ............................................... 205
Client-focused product innovations ......................... 206
Professional inspection visits and showrounds .............. 208
Yield management and 'REVPAR' .............................. 210
Negotiating with clients ................................... 214
Venue case studies ......................................... 215
Summary .................................................... 226
Review and discussion questions ............................ 226
Notes and references ....................................... 227
Further reading ............................................ 227
7 A people industry .......................................... 229
Introduction ............................................... 229
The importance of people skills ............................ 230
Education and learning, training and CPD opportunities ..... 235
Careers in the conference industry ......................... 244
Salary levels .............................................. 245
Career profiles ............................................ 248
Summary .................................................... 276
Review and discussion questions ............................ 276
Notes and references ....................................... 277
8 Leading industry organizations ............................. 279
Introduction ............................................... 279
The activities of international organizations and
associations ............................................... 280
The roles of selected national trade associations .......... 296
An assessment of the conference industry's fragmentation ... 302
Summary .................................................... 303
Review and discussion questions ............................ 303
9 Trends, issues and future developments ..................... 305
Introduction ............................................... 305
Global trends and forecasts ................................ 306
Events and the marketing mix ............................... 309
Virtual versus face-to-face conferencing ................... 310
Sustainable meetings ....................................... 313
Corporate social responsibility ............................ 319
Accessibility not disability ............................... 322
Procurement ................................................ 324
Return on investment ....................................... 326
In conclusion .............................................. 329
Summary .................................................... 330
Review and discussion questions ............................ 330
Notes and references ....................................... 331
Further reading ............................................ 332
Case studies .................................................. 333
Appendix A List of conference industry trade magazines ....... 395
Index ......................................................... 397
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