Chapter One lntroduction

1.1 Background

Event tourism is currently a significant sector in the tourism industry and a force in the economic regeneration or micro-modernisation of both the tourism industry and regional economies. Ritchie (1984) wrote that event tourism involves either major one-time or recurring events of limited duration, developed primarily to enhance the awareness, appeal and profitability of a tourism destination in the short and/or long term. The success of these events relies on uniqueness, status, or timely significance to arouse interest and attract attention. Raybould and Fredline (2012) mentioned that one of the most extensively researched areas of special events is their economic impact. Canniffe (1998) and Ryan (1998) also agreed that the nature and impact of events rely on whether the destination is a country as a whole or a particular region, city or town within it. For his part Getz (1989) added that although the majority of events have probably arisen for non-tourist reasons, there is clearly a trend to exploit them for tourism and to create new events deliberately as tourist attractions. Consequently, the significance and success of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism are not unanticipated, for MICE is deliberately engineered by the local, regional and national government as a means of prestige and economic regeneration. As Getz (1991) said, the growing interest in festival and special events is based on events' profitable activities in the community.

According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) (2013), the number of meetings of international associations between 1963 and 2012 was 173,432;the current ratio of association members to meetings is 1:13 compared to 1:3 in the 1970s; the estimated total expenditure on all meetings in the ICCA database taking place in the last five years is 56.4 billion USD. The position of international events and especially event tourism is becoming important in the world economy. The ICCA (2013) stated that each year the ICCA figures are anxiously awaited by destinations around the world, all of which compete fiercely for a larger share of this lucrative market. These figures have subsequently increased and in 2008, ICCA estimated that, in 2007, there had been, globally, a total of 6,500 conference sessions, an increase of 800 sessions over the previous year 2006. International event tourism also possesses significant potential for growth. Because of worldwide economic integration, and in spite of the growing use of the Internet, commercial, academic, and governmental needs dictate a growing demand for frequent face-to-face MICE. This need has enabled the industry to get less impact and survive recessions during economic downturns.

Due to the economic impacts brought by MICE, MICE tourism has played a very important role in tourism and economic policy development by regional and national governments. The creation of special events and attractions is increasingly playing an important role in attracting tourists to a local region or community (UNWTO, 2012). Kim, Uysal and Chen (2002) agreed, stating earlier that one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry has been ‘event tourism'. As Hall (1992) said, events are being viewed as an integral part of tourism development and marketing plans. Again, to further cite Hall (1992), international events are an opportunity for nations to improve their image in an increasingly market and brand image conscious world. Yet this is not new. According to Armstrong (1986, p. 11), ‘... the first international exhibition, the Great Exposition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, held in Hyde Park, London, in 1851 was held because, as Prince Albert stated, “It was the only way to out-do the French”.'

It has thus become commonplace that events are important success factors for the marketing of tourism and its development (Getz, 1997; Peters & Weiermair, 2000). Consequently, event tourism and MICE management have also become an important issue. Getz (1997) stated whether an event is organised by professionals or volunteers, corporations or non-profit associations, event management is both an art and a science. According to Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-Knight, Drummond and McMahon-Beattie (2004), the components involved in event management are varied such as financial support, volunteers' motivation, theme selection, and the ability to identify market segments and their needs.

It is therefore not uncommon for the public sector to be responsible for a large proportion of the special events provided for the community, and many local governments now have a substantial and varied events program (Thomas & Wood, 2004). Indeed, in many countries local authorities have someone within their organisation who has the specific role of devising a portfolio of events and conferences and who seeks to encourage the private sector to initiate conferences, conventions and meetings. Yet despite the growth in the importance of such activities and the increasing role of the public sector in providing special events (Shone & Parry, 2001), the public service provision for entertainment, culture, and arts remains a non-mandatory requirement (Borrett, 1991). Furthermore, because of the interest in economic regeneration, research has been dominated by economic impact assessment. Many researchers have focused on the residents' reactions to or a relationship between mega events and the local community. Warnick, Bojanic and Xu (2015) mentioned that most economic impact (EI) studies focus on tourist destinations and long-term seasonal tourism attractions and special events, which by nature are different from permanent attractions. However, there are still gaps in the research such as studies of residents' perceptions of event-related policies and financial and social benefits related to hosting events. This lack of interest specifically exists in the Chinese MICE research area, partly due to the very recent emergence of MICE development in this country. Thus it can be stated that the Chinese MICE industry has been less studied than that of the West. This book attempts to go beyond a narrow economic approach and explore a wider resident perception of MICE tourism with specific reference to a regional centre located in the People's Republic of China.

Visitors attending a convention or exhibition often look for elements beyond the core of the event to complement their experiences. It is common to draw upon local cultures to provide these attractions because these are specific to an area, and are thereby unique and are thus thought to attract out-of-region visitors (Kim, Uysal & Chen, 2002). Robinson and Phipps (2003) defined what are termed ‘pockets of opportunity' whereby convention and exhibition delegates increasingly seek to touch, at different levels, the essence of‘otherness' communicated through various intercultural mediators such as food, outdoor music, objects, aesthetic signs, and narration.