Convention And Exhibition Industry Importance

Convention And Exhibition Industry ImportanceIn October 2010, the city of snatch successfully held the World expoundingsition, with an accomplishment of participants advent from 246 countries, and more than 70 million visitors (Xinhua, 2010). There were many preparations made prior to the event, including constructing the buildings, transportation, accommodation for world wide visitors, and educational activity advantage providers with better wait ons. As holding international large-scale practices and exhibitions bequeath attract international guests and forget boost the economy locally, the value-added brought by the events jackpot to a fault influence tourism assiduity with the overhaul tonus, and the influence depart take effect even after the event is over. The current search is interested in the effects of company and exhibition labor on process bore, as World Expo 2010 imprint just finished, it is suitable for collecting info concerning this topic.The conv ention and exhibition industry is one of the most important and fastest growing industries in the 21st century. It is often categorized with meeting, incentive travel together as the meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry. With its gaining popularity, it has grown as a significant market segment over the past decades (Astroff Abbey 2006 Kim, Chon Chung 2003). MICE industry not only brings a destination with force-out and culture in their competitive advantage, but in addition enhances the image of the destination, and economic benefits for the destination and community (Opperman 1996). accord to the outside(a) Meeting Statistics by the Union of world(prenominal) Associations (UIA), 11,423 international meetings were held in 2008 worldwide (UIA, 2009). The industry consists of multi-sectors of hospitality process including lodging, food and beverage, catering, convention help, convention facility supply, transportation, tourism, retail, and entertainment (Astroff Abbey 2006). And the benefit to local economy is huge. With U.S. be active Associations (2009) estimation, the MICE industry contributes $101 billion in annual spending, and provides $16 billion in tax revenue, and creates one million jobs. As for Singapore, every dollar generates by the MICE industry adds another 12 dollars to the national GDP (International Enterprise Singapore 2001). As the case in China, which is one of the most populous countries in the world, reports indicated that during the Kunming Expo 1999, the international horticultural fair, ticket revenues were 100 million RMB ($12 million), and it has brought 170 million RMB ($20.5 million) ticket revenues to the hospitality industry (China Research and Intelligence 2009). The development if convention and exhibition economy also provides more job opportunities, marketing, infrastructure and service quality.Service QualityService quality has been an important attribute in the service industry it is defined as the consumers judgment about an entitys overall excellence or superiority (Parasuraman, Zeithaml Berry 1988). It affects customer satisfaction, and it is one of the critical factors to business excerption and competitiveness in the service industry. In previous researches, the efficiency and accuracy to appreciate service quality has been the main focus (Ladhari 2008). Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988) conducted the most important studies on service quality, which was developing the SERVQUAL instrument. The SERVQUAL instrument concluded five dimensions tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. This instrument has become the foundation of service quality measurement instrument in a variety of industries, which compares between customer expectation and realized performance of specific service.Tsang and Qu (2000) on the other hand, larded from several studies and indicated the 5 gaps of service quality. They draw in the gaps as the diff erence between expectations and perceptions. The management perceptions of customer expectations and service quality specifications, the difference between service quality specifications and the service actually delivered, and the service saving and what is communicated about the service to customers, these gaps affect the actual delivery of service. And the difference between customer expectations of service quality and customer perceptions of the actual performance affects customer perceptions of service quality, which is what this research would like to find out.World ExpositionThe World Exposition, or called World Fair, Universal Exposition, Expo, is a form of large public exhibitions held in assorted parts of the world. The first Expo was held in 1851, in Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom. It was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. It was the idea of Queen Victorias husband, and it influenced the development of many aspects in the friendship (Findl ing Pelle 2008, pp. 13-14). Since then, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.The World Expo 2010 Shanghai is the first Expo to be held in a developing country, the groundwork is Better City, Better Life. Because nowadays, 55% of the world population lives in a city, the Expo sets out to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century, and display urban civilization, exchanging experiences of urban development, explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century, also learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings. It is held from May 1st to the end of October in 2010, spanning six months (Expo 2010 Official Website 2008).V isitors to ShanghaiAs the Expo brought over participants glide slope from 246 countries, and more than 70 million visitors (Xinhua, 2010), there is also a boost in tourism and numbers of travelers in Shanghai, both domestic and international. A statistic data gathered from the Shanghai Municipal tourism Administration is accustomed in Table 1. As shown in table 1 and the total number of visitors in effigy 1, theres a big leap in year 2010, which the Expo took place.Table 1. Visitors to ShanghaiYear20062007200820092010Domestic4,646,3035,200,9815,264,7275,333,9357,337,216Hong Kong314,871322,351363,247415,478623,969Macau16,44817,36315,57517,81640,043International3,997,9794,426,1484,416,2234,390,4955,931,211Total8,975,6019,966,84310,059,77210,157,72413,932,439 descent Shanghai Municipal Tourism AdministrationFigure 1. Total Visitor to Shanghai from 2006 to 2010Hotels in ShanghaiShanghai is one of the most visited cities in China, according to the statistics from Euromonitor research and China Bureau of Statistics, the market size of travel accommodation in China in year 2010 reach sales of RMB 510.8 billion ($78.2 billion) (Euromonitor International 2011). According to the report, the regional hotel parameters in 2010 indicate that Shanghai has the mellowedest occupancy rate among all other municipal or provinces, as shown in Table 2.Table 2. military control rate For Travel Accommodations in ChinaDestinationTravel AccommodationsOccupancy rate %Anhui 310250Beijing 518269.4Fujian 502460.1Guangdong 642267.1Guangxi 490353.2Hainan 216759.8Hebei 298349.1Henan 266850.4Jiangsu 554459.8Shaanxi 388255Shandong 514950Shanghai 441070.7SiChuan 231158.9Tianjin 197354.2Yunnan 376352Zhejiang 560656.7Source Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews, trade sourcesAs for a more detailed statistic for Shanghai, data retrieved from Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration is shown in Table 3, and the o ccupancy rates for total travel accommodations is shown in Table 4 and Figure2. The statistics suggests that the occupancy rate for accommodations in Shanghai undergo a growth between 2009 and 2010. Although the occupancy rates for Table 2 and Table 3 are slightly different, due to the differences is samples, numbers in Euromonitor International (2011) studies are narrowed to certain hotel chains, however it unsounded indicates the market size in Shanghai is greater than other destinations in China.Table 3. The Occupancy set for Hotels in ShanghaiYear20062007200820092010 Occupancy64.2461.3556.5352.6867.22Source Shanghai Municipal Tourism AdministrationFigure 2. Occupancy Rates of Hotels in Shanghai abstract MapWith the review and statistics presented above, we can infer that the 2010 World Expo Shanghai has brought more visitors to Shanghai, and helped increased the occupancy rate. Supposed there are more muckle visiting Shanghai due to the Expo, accommodation demands raise and the demand for service quality should also rise. The conceptual framework of this study is depicted in Figure 3.Convention and Exhibition IndustryTotal Visitors to a DestinationHotel Service QualityFigure 3. The Conceptual FrameworkThe convention and exhibition industry will influence the total number of visitors to a destination, weather they are participants to the event or guests and tourists. This link is already shown and proven in the data provided above, therefore, with more visitors coming to the destination, demands for accommodations will rise, and that will in turn influence the service quality in the hotel sector. According to the research questions and framework, the hypothesis for this study is formedHypothesis 1 World Expo 2010 significantly influenced the number of visitors to Shanghai.After examining the influence on increase in visitors to Shanghai, I would like to know if the increase in visitor numbers influences the service quality in the hotel sector, therefore Hypothesis 2 Increased visitors to Shanghai positively influenced the service quality in hotel sector.If Hypothesis is also supported, then I would like to examine if the effects on service performance will keep on taking effect, or if there is no difference between service quality compared to before, or the quality will even drop, thereforeHypothesis 3 The increase in service quality in hotel sector will remain after the World Expo 2010 is finished.Research QuestionThe ride of this study is to answer the questions of whether the convention and exhibition industry brings benefit to a destination, and will the industry influence the service quality. Not only during the event, but also after the event, the total quality for service industry will increase. Therefore, the research questions I set out to answer are Will convention and exhibition industry bring more visitors to a destination? Will more visitors influence the service quality for hotels? After the event, will the influenc e still carry on?Research DesignDue to the aim of this research, I try to discover the differences between service qualities before the Expo 2010 and after, the research will adopt a time series design. However it would be impossible to gather data prior to the Expo by myself, but I can fictional character past research on service quality in the hotel industry in China from previous studies and researches. Drawn from a research done by Tsang and Qu (2000), I will have a reference of the service quality done in year 2000, and then I will be able to compare the results done today and later.SampleTo visit the hotel service quality provided in Shanghai, the current research targets at international guests that visits Shanghai, I will use a convenience sampling method, questionnaires will be distributed to guests in a hotel chain. Also a systematic sampling method will also be apply, which every 5th visitor impedimenting in will be asked to do the questionnaire. This will also be simi lar samples to the previous study done by Tsang and Qu (2000).InstrumentIn this research I adopt the instrument developed and used by Tsang and Qu (2000). They adopt the questionnaire from SERVEQUAL and other research, and developed the questionnaire in 3 parts, with 35 service quality attributes. The first part is to measure the respondents expectations regarding service quality in the hotel industry, they will be asked to fill in the level of importance of statements with responses, from a 5-point Likerts scale, ranging from (1) very low expectation to (5) very high expectation. The second part of the questionnaire is designed to examine the respondents perceptions of service quality actually provided during the stay. Also, the respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with statements with responses from a 5-point Likerts scale (1) potently disagree to (5) strongly agree. The third part of the questionnaire collects the demographic and classification questions o f the respondent. The 35 attributes are listed as belowGap mean differences between managers perception of tourists expectations and tourists expectations of service quality in the hotel industryAttributes1. Comfortable and welcome feeling2. Neat appearance of staff3. Professionalism of staff4. Hotel staff with multi-lingual skills5. Friendliness and courtesy of staff6. Special attention given by staff7. availableness of staff to provide service8. Staff performing the services right the first time9. Reservation system was slowly accessible10. Quick check-in and check-out11. Cleanliness of populate12. Quietness of room13. Security of room14. Attractive decor, furnishings of room/lobby15. Comfortable mattress and pillow16. Reasonable room rate/value for money17. Variety of services offered18. Reliable message and wake-up service19. Provision of accurate and reliable information20. The guarantee of reliable service21. Availability of room service22. Prompt breakfast service23. Elegan t banquet service24. High quality of food in restaurant(s)25. Variety of drinks and wine-coloured list26. Reasonable restaurant/bar prices27. The high degree/level of hygiene of food28. Up-to-date and modern facilities29. Adequacy of fire safety facilities30. Availability of eating and drinking facilities31. Availability of year-round swimming pool32. Availability of business center facilities33. Availability of sauna and health club34. Availability of league/meeting room35. Convenient hotel locationData AnalysisDescriptive statistics analysis was used to understand the demographic information about the respondent. Each of the categories will be calculated and described in the descriptive statistics section. In order to understand the correlations between variables, a correlation analysis were conducted on all rudimentary data such as gender, age, experience, educational level, marriage status and the scores of the scales. To investigate the service quality gaps, a paired t-test will be used to evaluate the service quality.ConclusionThe expected results for this research will be there are positive relationship between visitors to Shanghai positively influenced the service quality in hotel sector. As the visitor numbers already increased during the period of the Expo, the hotel occupancy rates are also higher. With more people check into the hotels, hotel managers pay more attention to the service quality, in order to deliver better guest service. Also, it is expected that the increase in service quality in hotel sector will remain after the World Expo 2010 is finished.There are several limitations of this research. First with the time series design, the differences in sampling and foresightful time between the two time periods will cause some confounding. Since the improvements in infrastructure in Shanghai may also influence service quality, this is something we cannot eliminate. Second, travelers to the hotels will be different from the first sample, we can compare the demographic data between the two, trying to match the samples, however there are still unparallel between the two. For future research suggestions, we can collect the data again 5 years after the Expo, to find out weather the service quality keeps the same as the period right after the Expo. We can also get an idea of how hotel managers improve their service quality by interviewing them, with can reveal some more detailed facts on how the Expo really affect their business.