Krzysztof Celuch, Warsaw University of Economics and Computer Science

1
Business Tourism Events The education and
careers backgrounds of Convention Bureau
managersRob Davidson and Krzysztof Celuch
Bournemouth University Event Tourism
Conference10 January 2007
2
THE BUSINESS TOURISM SECTOR

• (M.I.C.E.)
• The blue chip sector of tourism
• An excellent provider of job opportunities, but
• careers within the conference industry are
  relatively new, with little information available
  on potential career progression or pathways.
  (McCabe 2001)

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RESEARCH ON BUSINESS TOURISM CAREERS

• Relevant at this time, because of the changing
  patterns in working life
• organisations becoming flatter, leaner, meaner
  and more global in nature
• the concept of the self-directed career the
  individual taking control of his/her career path

4
BUSINESS TOURISM CAREERS

• Unregulated low barriers to entry, with regard
  to specific industry skills
• Entrants to the industry often have generic
  skills and are recruited from outside the
  industry
• There is movement of people between the business
  tourism industry sectors, in order to achieve
  their overall career objectives

5
BUSINESS TOURISM EDUCATION

• Despite the rapid development of the convention
  industry in past decades in terms of
  infrastructure, education and training programs
  have not been focused in the same systematic
  manner. (MacLaurin, 2002)
• Sporadic and ad-hoc developments by universities
• Industry associations involvement

6
CONFERENCE DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANISATIONS

• Conference destination marketing occurs at
  various geographic levels
• Convention and Visitor Bureaux (CVBs)
• Other destination management/marketing
  organisations, such as National Tourism
  Organisations

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CONFERENCE DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANISATIONS

• According to Rosvi Gaetos, former Secretary
  General of the Asian Association of CVBs NTOs
  and CVBs are the best places to train new
  entrants into the industry, with both entities
  providing a broad insight into the industry.

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RESEARCH QUESTION

• Convention Bureau managers Who are these people,
  and where do they come from?

9
SURVEY OF ICCA MEMBERS

• 114 responses
• 28 CVBs representing countries
• 21 CVBs representing regions
• 71 CVBs representing cities
• (6 multiple replies city/regions)

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HOW LONG HAS YOUR CVB EXISTED ?

• 0-5 years 35 (31)
• 6-10 years 22 (19.3)
• 11-15 years 18 (15.7)
• Over 15 years 38 (33.3)

11
IN WHICH COUNTRY IS YOUR CVB LOCATED ?
12
YOUR HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION ?

• School certificate 20 (17.5)
• University bachelor degree 50 (43.8)
• University masters degree 43 (37.7)
• Doctorate degree 1 (0.01)

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SUBJECTS STUDIED AT UNIVERSITY

• ECONOMICS 18
• TOURISM 16
• HOTEL MANAGEMENT 13
• BUSINESS 13
• LANGUAGES 12
• MARKETING 11
• COMMUNICATION 8
• POLITICAL SCIENCE 6

14
SPECIFIC ELEMENTS IN DESTINATION MARKETING

• Taken by 60 respondents (53.1)

• Only 4 respondents with specific conference
  industry qualifications

15
PREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCE

• Marketing other products / services, apart from
  destinations 49 responses
• Marketing what?

16
PREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCE

• Hotels (not marketing) 36
• Travel trade 26
• Teaching 15
• National government 13
• Local government 10
• PCO/DMC 07
• Venue management 03
• (also architecture, interior design, banking,
  librarianship, mining)

17
HOW PROBABLE IS IT THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE CAREER
AND MOVE TO A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROFESSION ?

• Very probable 8 responses
• Probable 40 responses
• Improbable 56 responses
• I would never consider working in a different
  profession 08 responses

18
WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST LIKELY REASON FOR YOU
MOVING TO A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROFESSION ?

• Lack of opportunity for promotion 24 responses
• Salary too low 18 responses
• Too much stress 08 responses
• Too much time away from home 02 responses

19
CONCLUSIONS

• Lack of public awareness of career opportunities
  in this sector Industry-specific careers
  information is required, to raise awareness of
  business tourism career opportunities
• High mobility rates and turnover, due to the lack
  of clear progression opportunities and an
  attractive reward system for employees
• University curricula must combine sector-specific
  content with generic business (marketing) and
  communications skills

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THANK YOU.Rob DavidsonUniversity of
Westminsterdavidsr_at_wmin.ac.ukKrzysztof
CeluchWarsaw University of Economics and
Computer Sciencekrzysztof.celuch_at_wsei.pl