Dynamics of Promotion Triads in Meeting Destinations

1
Dynamics of Promotion Triads in Meeting
Destinations

• Szilvia Gyimothy Mia Larson
• Centre for Tourism
• Gothenburg University

2
Success recipe of meeting destinations

• Hub features (political, financial, transport
  or administrative centres)
• Destinations tourism brand, cultural heritage,
  history and atmosphere
• Meeting infrastructure (capacity and flexibility)
• A compact city that works (good public
  transport and flight connections)
• Safety, neutrality
• A well-functioning local meeting network

3
Destination Promotion Triad

• To analyse the dynamics of the destination
  promotion triad
• To identify key soft success factors of
  collaborative meetings networks
• To highlight contemporary challenges and paradoxes

4
The triad as a social form

• Georg Simmel, Khurana
• Triad assymetrical interdependency
• Not only a qualitative expansion of dyads
• The third partys dual function in the dyad
• Moderator/regulator of a dyad
• Mediator (Bridge builder)
• Distancer (rules by division)
• Ambiguities both proximity and distance
• The social context may better explain issues of
  power, loyalty, trust and confidence than logical
  typologies

5
RESEARCH DESIGN

• Copenhagen (11) and Vienna (1) on ICCA-rankings
• 15 in-depth interviews of main stakeholders (city
  administration, DMO, CVB, hotels, DMCs, PCOs)
• Document analysis of corporate reports and
  strategic plans of Meeting Place Copenhagen and
  Vienna CVB
• Observation during network meetings

6
Network theory evolution of thought

• Metaphor to analyse social relations (Simmel
  1890)
• Analytical framework (mapping structure, density,
  social distance, cliques) (Barnes 1954)
• Network analysis as new organisational paradigm
  in business and economics (competence based
  theories) (Grabher 2006)
• Policy network thinking resource mobilisation
  and political processes are results of ties,
  exchange and dependency between interest groups
  (Rhodes 2002)

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Collaboration in tourism

• Survival often depends on collective action
  collaboration through information exchange,
  shared resources, joint activities (Dollinger
  1990)
• Networks are supported by social capital (trust,
  communication, time spent together) Grangsjö 2003
• These are self-regulated, based on a common
  purpose
• May lead to conformity/assimilation of identity
  of members (Glover Hemingway 2005)
• Governance networks often emerge from informal
  social systems (Dredge 2001)

8
Managerial challenges in collaborative networks

• Balancing conflicting stakeholders interest in a
  fragmented network (Wilkinson March 2008)
• Bridging the gap between the bureaucratic culture
  of public administration and the marketing
  culture adopted by private tourism firms (Palmer
  1996)
• Undertaking a regional coordinating role in spite
  of limited ownership, budget or power to control
  how individual firms deliver (Hartl 2003)
• Simultaneous multiple containment Stakeholders
  simultaneous multiple membership in competing
  professional groupings, associations or chains
  (Gyimóthy 2005)

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Meeting Place Copenhagen

• In Denmark there was a tradition for that the
  large chains set the agenda on the hotel marked
  and put pressure on the DMC
• Sometimes it is not the cause that really
  determines initial support, but whether or not
  you are a good communicator. The hotels must
  trust you and believe that the network would
  bring more business to them (First director of
  MPC secretariat)
• It must be driven by the private actors If it
  is managed by the public administrators, it will
  become too bureaucratic. (marketing director at
  Radisson, initiator)
• Today, the distance between the hotels and the
  secretariat is growing. It has become a political
  project for WOCO.

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Vienna Conventrion Bureau

• Vienna is a village. You know your key players
  personally and there is no physical distance
  (Hofburg Congress Centre)
• The people at the CVB are professional guys.
  They give us the big leads for congresses
  attracting 25.000 delegates. (Intercontinental,
  General Manager)
• Mainly we compete with other cities. The big
  issue is whether or not the event comes to
  Vienna, rather than which congress centre
  receives the booking. We are all in the same
  boat. (Vienna, Hilton General Manager)
• We are not here to please the hotels, but the
  customers CVB Director)
• If were booked at a certain date and our hotel
  in Prague is not, Id not hesitate to convey the
  lead to them instead of a competing hotel in
  Vienna. (Hilton, General Manager)

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Key soft success factors

• Key success factors Legitimacy, transparency,
  stability, density of social network gtgtgtgt loyalty
  and identification
• Strong political support and acknowledgement
  (annual awards, co-financing)
• Legitimacy and loyalty among hotels and venues
• Regular dialogue on different fora ær dialog på
  forskellige fora transparent results, strategic
  discussions of conflicts
• CVB as third party between agents and hotels
• Organisational stability
• Staff continuity (veterans)
• Dense social network identification and fast
  ressource mobilising

14
Contemporary challenges emerging new business
logic

• Technological advances guests book directly at
  hotels
• Hotels expand their business portfolio
  (convention sales dept.)
• Intermediaries (DMCs, PCOs, agents), are pressed
  on their core activity and provisions
• Global entrants weak(er) loyalty ties to the CVB
  
• It doesnt help to speak from the heart. They
  the international hotel chains are completely
  cold about Copenhagen, if it can better pay off
  to move a convention to St. Petersbourg.