2.8 Event Tourism Competitive Capacity

Due to both market competition and a world environment with many natural disasters and political unrest, the demand for conferences has fluctuated as business prefers stable natural and political climates. Hu and Hiemstra (1996) indicated that in a competitive event market environment, associations and their meeting planners seek the best value packages on the market, which can best be done by selecting meeting destinations that fulfil associations' needs and expectations. Go and Govers (1999) also provided a similar opinion, namely as competition in the convention and exhibition industry increases, it becomes more critical for destinations to identify key criteria for success and clients' expectations. Crouch and Ritchie (1998) suggested there is great variation in the structure of the convention site selection process across different associations. To influence the selection choice, three main factors emerge, namely: city's basic service level, image and brand, and destination attractions.

City's Basic Service Level

Lee and Back (2007) identified that city attributes or capacity influence event planners' decision to select a particular destination. City capacity is not a general unique concept; it involves many areas that relate to human life, city development, etc. It is a single integrated comprehensive measure beyond the whole tourism resources of the destination. Johnson and Thomas (1993) said most literature has attempted to define capacity in fairly limited ways: few writers have made serious attempts to embrace all considerations relevant to society as a whole in a unified framework. So, to provide a unique concept of city capacity is problematic, but it is a single integrated comprehensive measure extending beyond the whole tourism resource. Johnson and Thomas (1993) argued that there is an awareness that capacities exist for each of the various inter-related subsystems (economic, social, environmental, and cultural). Murphy (1985) also said the measurement of tourism carrying capacity is difficult and elaborate but the concept may provide valuable insights into residents' perceptions of tourism.

City capacity is the basis for event development. Event development itself is a new‘shining spot' for the tourism industry combining different industries while trading on social elements. As previously noted, the coefficient of event development is 1:8; the‘1' for the event industry, and the ‘8' for the transportation, accommodation, food, shopping, entertainment, and travel sectors. Therefore almost every aspect of the life and organisations of cities can be described and incorporated into a city capacity system, which is viewed as a complex process associated with the differing demands of different societies that make an urban population.

Accordingly, decision-making processes and destination images are held by both association meeting planners and potential attendees (Zelinsky, 1994; Oppermann, 1996a;Oppermann & Chon, 1997; Crouch & Ritchie, 1998; Weber, 2001) and incorporate many of the sub-systems of city carrying capacity. The type of tourist resource is deeply implicated in the concept of city carrying capacity because meeting planners are concerned about their main attendees' perceptions, many of whom may be very different in terms of culture, religion, and ethnicity and are likely to seek socio-cultural experiences combined with their event trip (see Table 2.3).

Schofield (1996) indicated tourism destination products have been conceptualised in a variety of ways including a ‘component perspective' where products have been described as bundles of activities, services and benefits, and as physical and service features with symbolic associations. Thus, basic public services can also affect the delegates' satisfaction during their attendance. As mentioned before, event facilities are one important factor considered by meeting planners in their selection decision with reference to the facilities' size, capacity, type, and quality and expertise of management. Event facilities are not simple concepts in this selection process and need to be combined with several hotels and entertainments. Wu and Weber (2005) indicated that as convention centres are nonresidential, they require several hotels in close proximity to accommodate convention delegates, in addition to restaurants and shopping facilities. The service quality also has a direct relationship with attendees' satisfaction, which can affect the event planners' next round of place selection. So Wu and Weber (2005) provided an understanding of the importance of specific venue attributes of facilities and services as an imperative for design and construction, and subsequent service provision by convention and exhibition centre owners and management. Furthermore, some main public facilities like medical and transport services, and media promotion are also important factors involved in the city capacity. In short, Wu and Weber (2005) argued that the growth of MICE activity has both been facilitated by and resulted in further significant capital investments in supporting convention infrastructure and in particular in the construction of dedicated convention and exhibition centres.

Image and Brand

The consumer's perception of destination choice is always related with a consumer's degree of recognition of a city ‘brand'. Given the emotional power of travel as experience, destinations begin to seek their position as a holistic place brand, and indeed many countries, states and regions are embarking on brand-event initiatives. As Hall (1992) said, events are being viewed as an integral part of tourism development and marketing plans.The importance of city image among the tourism market is obvious from many research studies. According to Pike (2002), from 1973 to 2000, more than 142 articles related to tourism destination image have been published in international tourism journals or presented at conferences. Rod (2003) mentioned every tourist destination in the world has a ‘brand image', which puts a destination on the consumer's ‘shopping list' and creates an emotional appeal, and seeks to enhance that destination's chances of being chosen over others. Richards and Wilson (2004) said the image of a place is usually very important in attracting visitors and place image research has been particularly prevalent in the tourism studies field. Research shows that appearance is very important and people generally agree on what makes a city look appealing (Grabmeier, 1997). Selby (2004) associated the importance of the image of a city with a high-quality lifestyle, extensive facilities, and a lively ambience as being crucial to attract target market segments. Morgan and Pritchard (1998) even described city image as the ‘currency of culture'.

Events and city image complement each other. Getz (1991) said cities have long used mega events such as World Expos and sporting events as a means of revitalising their economies, creating infrastructure and improving their image. Hall (1992) also noted it is apparent that major events can have the effect of shaping an image of the host community or country, leading to its favourable perception as a potential travel destination. This potential has been a reason for events being used as an image-enhancement tool, particularly for large cities (Law, 1993; Holcomb, 1999b; Sassen & Roost, 1999; Judd & Fainstein, 1999; Selby, 2004). To promote a city's image is not a unique process. Kim and Chalip (2003) argued there is a need to evaluate market position dependent on the event's media, sponsorship, and word of mouth, each of which is a function of the event's spectator appeal.

The total branding task is by no means easy, but the rewards are enormous. City branding is a long-term task and one that needs monitoring, updating, and adjusting to suit the changeable market. Cities with an already existing tourism industry may sometimes decide to re-brand their image ‘when visitor numbers decline' (Kolb, 2006, p. 19). A decline in visitors can occur when the city is no longer perceived by potential tourists as an attractive destination. Cities should routinely assess how they are branding themselves in a crowded tourism marketplace and adjust their brand if needed.

According to Lombardi (1990), there are two major ways of re-creating a destination image in the minds of visitors after an event has occurred: one is through communication in the mass media; the other is through a real experience. Thus tourists' and event attendees' satisfaction level is one of the important factors that can influence city image building. Gunn (1972) suggested that a traveller's experience proceeds on the basis of seven stages, including an image modification process:

accumulation of mental images about the vacation experience (first stage);

modification of those images by further information (second stage);

decision to take a vacation trip (third stage);

travel to the destination (fourth stage);

participation at the destination (fifth stage);

return (sixth stage); and

new accumulation of images based on the experience (seventh stage).

Crompton (1979) also indicated that the images of destinations significantly differ between different tourists. He suggested the gap between tourists' ideal and actual perceptions can directly influence the tourists' perceptions of city image. Abbey and Link (1994) suggested satisfied convention attendees may very well turn into repeat visitors and advertise the destination through word of mouth. Also media promotion plays a significant role in the image building process, which paints a true or factual picture of destination to tourists.

The problem of successfully promoting the image of a city that needs to build its own unique attraction is intensified when, due to the global prevalent styles, many cities have built similar attractions. For many metropolises, tourists always have a feeling that ‘they are similar' with many skyscrapers, crowded streets, wide roads, and many shopping areas, etc. It is hard for those cities to stand out given their similar urban ambience. Richards and Wilson (2004) underlined that the infrastructure and amenities in many different cities and regions tend to become increasingly similar. Getz and Wicks (1993) suggested the systematic planning development and marketing of MICE as tourist attractions, catalysts and image builders is one possible cause for this. Deery, Jago, Fredline and Dwyer (2005) noted that meetings and events is one niche tourism activity that contributes significantly to GDP as to the branding and awareness of tourist destinations, and that copycat developments tend to occur. However, in the context of travel and tourism, this spectrum becomes limited to that segment of the industry that is unique to a specific geographic location and is limited in duration.

Many Chinese medium and small cities have similar backgrounds and culture, so how to stand out from the crowd is a key question when they are seeking to develop a MICE framework. For example, ‘tourism' is a hot topic that is used by many cities, and if one types ‘tourism festivals' in search engines the result can show thousands of different kinds of tourism festivals hosted in different cities. Creating a special and attractive city brand in the wider competitive market is important. The 1999 Kunming Expo is an example of success. Kunming Scientific and Technological Bureau (2005) reported that Kunming is one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities of China; the most prominent feature of the city is the stable ecological environment, which gives it the famous nickname of ‘spring city'. Kunming Expo is exactly based on the city's major resources with its stable climate, natural resources, multiple ethnicities, and special history. As Kunming Expo Garden Co., Ltd. (2006) mentioned, the 1999 Kunming Expo was originally planned for Beijing, but with the weather and venue difficulties, the site of this horticulture exposition was changed to Kunming. Thus brand image always depends on a resource base, especially for a tourism-based city.

Destination Attractions

What makes a city with its events an exciting place to visit? Carey (1994) defined an event broadly, as encompassing anything attracting an audience by appealing to specific tastes, desires, or needs. Delegates attending any convention or exhibition often look for elements beyond the core of the event to complement their experiences. For Manning (1983, p. 4), celebration is performance: ‘it is the dramatic presentation of cultural symbols.' So it is important for cities' tourism organisers to draw upon local cultures to provide special attractions for both tourists and event planners because these can be specific and thereby unique to the area, and so gain attention in the event marketplace.Not only culture can attract MICE but also culturally-based festivals and events can influence local culture. Robinson, Picard and Long (2004) said tourism in terms of space/place is distinctive, multiple, and many of the physical sites in which tourism happens are not simply ‘products' to be consumed. Yeoman et al. (2004) noted the economic phenomena of cultural and cultural-driven festivals and event strategies as global phenomena. There is a close relationship between local culture, festivals, and events. As Robinson et al. (2004) said, there remains a need to address some of the deeper issues of the tourist-festival-culture relationship. Festivals and special events are the ‘cultural resources of an area that make possible the successful hosting of visitors' (Uysal, Gahan &Martin, 1993, p. 5). Notzke (2004) provided a similar opinion in an Australian context that the aboriginal tourism experience acquired through attending events has become an important part of aboriginal tourism and is viewed as being a powerful communication tool that is operated by various tourism stakeholders. In short, cultural events possess an ability to impact as inspirational and life-changing experiences for participants.