Success factors for business tourism destinations: evidence from Zlatibor (Serbia)
Keywords:
business tourism; meetings industry; destination selection criteria; convention bureau; Zlatibor
Abstract
Business tourism is an important and fast-growing sector in the global tourism industry. It is often positioned as a crucial part of an economic development strategy, particularly in emerging destinations, such as Serbia. As there is a growing number of destinations that recognized benefits of business tourism development, tourism professionals and destination management must be aware of key success factors for business tourism destinations, namely factors that influence the choice of host destination for a business event. Serbia has been one of the growing meeting destinations in Europe in the last decade, and Zlatibor is a desirable tourist destination in the country, with a good reputation in hosting meetings primarily in the field of medicine. This study aims to examine the success factors for business tourism destination and the attractiveness of Zlatibor for holding business events from destination stakeholders' perspective. The results could be of interest to all stakeholders in business tourism.
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Chacko, H. E., & Fenich, G. G. (2000). Determining the importance of US convention destination attributes. Journal of vacation marketing, 6(3), 211-220.
Chen, C. F. (2006). Applying the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach to convention site selection. Journal of Travel Research, 45(2), 167-174.
Crouch, G. I., & Brent Ritchie, J. R. (1997). Convention site selection research: A review, conceptual model, and propositional framework. Journal of Convention & Exhibition Management 1(1), 49-69.
Crouch, G. I., & Louviere, J. J. (2004). The determinants of convention site selection: A logistic choice model from experimental data. Journal of travel research, 43(2), 118-130.
DiPietro, R. B., Breiter, D., Rompf, P., & Godlewska, M. (2008). An exploratory study of differences among meeting and exhibition planners in their destination selection criteria. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism 9(4), 258-276.
Dragićević, V., Blešić, I. & Stankov, U. (2010). Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions of Congress Attendees: Evidence from an International Congress in Novi Sad (Serbia). Geographica Pannonica 14, 1, 23 – 30.
Dragićević, V., Jovičić, D., Blešić, I., Stankov, U., & Bošković, D. (2012). Business tourism destination competitiveness: A case of Vojvodina Province (Serbia). Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 25(2), 311-332.
Dragićević, V., Stankov, U., Armenski, T. & Štetić, S. (2011). Evaluation of congress performance and congress attendees' satisfaction – a case study of Novi Sad (Serbia), Tourism and Hospitality Management, 17(1), 67–78.
Dunjić, J., Dragićević, V., Arsenović, D., Pantelić, M., & Stankov, U. (2012). Conference attendees' satisfaction: Evidence from Belgrade (Serbia). Turizam, 16(4), 170-179.
German Convention Bureau (2013). Meetings and Conventions 2030: A study of megatrends shaping our industry. Available at https://www.gcb.de/trends-inspiration/meetings-and-conventions-2030.html.
Han, H., & Hwang, J. (2017). What motivates delegates' conservation behaviors while attending a convention? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(1), 82–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.1130111
Han, H., Lee, S., Al-Ansi, A., Kim, H. C., Ryu, H. B., Kim, J. J., & Kim, W. (2019). Convention Tourism and Sustainability: Exploring Influencing Factors on Delegate Green Behavior that Reduce Environmental Impacts. Sustainability, 11(14), 3903. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143903
Houdement, J., Santos, J. A. C., & Serra, F. (2017). Factors affecting the decision-making process when choosing an event destination: A comparative approach between Vilamoura (Portugal) and Marbella (Spain). Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, 5(2), 127-145.
ICCA Statistics report 2019. Available on the website www.iccaworld.org.
Kim, W. G., & Kim, H. C. (2004). The analysis of Seoul as an international convention destination. Journal of Convention & Exhibition Management 5(2), 69-87.
McCartney, G. (2008). The CAT (casino tourism) and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions): Key development considerations for the convention and exhibition industry in Macao. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism 9(4), 293-308.
Pavluković, V., & Cimbaljević, M. (2020). Factors affecting conference participation decision-making. Journal of the Geographical Institute" Jovan Cvijic", SASA, 70(1), 31-43.
Qu, H., Li, L., & Chu, G. K. T. (2000). The comparative analysis of Hong Kong as an international conference destination in Southeast Asia. Tourism Management, 21(6), 643-648.
Swarbrooke, J. and Horner, S. (2001). Business Travel and Tourism, Butterworth-Heinemann.
Weber, K. and Chon, K. 2002. Convention tourism international research and industry perspectives, Haworth Press Inc.,U.S.
United Nations World Tourism Organization & European Travel Commission. (2015). The Decision-makingProcess of Meetings, Congresses, Conventions and Incentives Organizers. Madrid, Spain: UNWTO.
World Travel & Tourism Council. (2017). Maximising Opportunities for Business Travel Growth [Report]. Retrieved from https://www.wttc.org/publications/2017/p4g-white-paper-maximising-opportunities-for-business-travel-growth/
Zhanga, H. Q., Leunga, V. and Qu, H. (2007). A refined model of factors affecting convention participation decision-making. Tourism Management 28, 1123–1127.
