Assessment of Importance-Performance Analusis Model On Perceived Featured of The Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industry: An Empirical Application

ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE-PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS MODEL ON PERCEIVED FEATURES OF THE SHANGHAI CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION INDUSTRY: AN EMPIRICAL APPLICATION
Lijia Xie, Yingzhi Guo, Yunxia Ye Department of Tourism Fudan University, China and Kuo-Ching Wang, Ya Fang Hung Graduate Institute of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management National Chiayi University, China ABSTRACT As the finance centre of Mainland China, Shanghai has put much effort into the construction of the Convention and Exhibition tourism market, which is a potential market for tourists, especially participants in international conferences, conventions festivals and events. It is an empirical advantage for this study as event tourists have fully witnessed the development of the event industry. Based on the data collected from event tourists, this study applied IPA (Importance-Performance Analysis) to analyze Shanghai tourists holistic perceptions of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition tourism industry, and also advanced targeted suggestions for future work emphasis and relocation of marketing resources. This study was dedicated to realizing sustainable development among the benefit-related parties and thus further promoting a healthy Shanghai Convention and Exhibition tourism industry. Keywords: IPA, Shanghai Convention tourism, tourists perception, feature attributes

INTRODUCTION
The MICE industry generally includes the following four segments: conventions, incentive tours, exhibitions and events. It is a most important stream in the tourism industry and a very fast growing sector (Weber, 2000). As participants in international conventions account for a relatively large number, and they generally stay in the convention destination for some time to go sightseeing pre and post the convention, hence the spending and expenses of this group contribute a great deal to the convention destination (Zhang,2000). For instance, 50 % participants

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attending an international conference held in Australia would like to participate in tours pre and post the conference and stay in the destination country for more than 3 days (McCabe, 2000). The impact of hosting such conventions is obvious in terms of related industries development and economic enhancement. For instance, as the host destination, Las Vegas hosted conventions in 1999 with 3700,000 participants and direct income of 4.1billion US dollars (Baloglu and Love, 2005). The annual direct economic income brought by the convention industry accounts for 700 billion Australian dollars (Weber, 2000). The number of conventions and conference held in the Asian Pacific area increased by 124% from1980 to 1996 (Hutchinson, 1997) and countries like Singapore, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand have put much effort into the construction of convention infrastructures (Qu, 2000). According to the report from ICCA, there were 5283 international association meetings held in 2005. The top five host countries include the U.S.A (376), Germany (320), Spain (275), UK (270) and France (240). Among the top five destination cities, Singapore and Hong Kong respectively rank 125 in the top 2 and 95 in the top 5. Either worldwide or in the particular country, the MICE industry is a fast growing sector, which has also been called the boost motor for economic benefit and society development (Guo, 2007). In recent decades, many cities in China have attempted to develop the convention industry and convention tourism. The annual growth rate of Chinas convention tourism industry is 20% in the direction of internationalization, specialization and branding (Guo, 2007). As the economic centre of the Chinese mainland, Shanghai has put great effort into the construction of the convention and exhibition market. Shanghai has great potential to attract tourists, especially these who participate in all kinds of international conferences, exhibitions, incentive tours and other events and festivals (Guo, 2007). The steady economic growth, beneficial political environment, superior geographic location, developed traffic and information conditions, and sprouting convention centres have provided important conditions for the development of the Shanghai convention and exhibition industry (Huangpu, 2005), which has led the way and set a example for other cities (Dao, 2007). Prior to the upcoming 2010 World Expo, Shanghai has successfully held a series of large-scale expos and events such as the 32nd ICC, Fortune Global Forum, Asia Enterprise Annual Meeting, Summit Conference of Shanghai Five Countries, APEC Summit, the 9th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, an International Tennis Event, the Master Cup and so on. The convention and exhibition industry has been the development priority of Shanghais modern service industry, and the Shanghai government has established the strategic goal of promoting Shanghai as the international convention centre. With rich resources and support from the government, the Shanghai convention and exhibition tourism industry will gradually become the new mainstay industry. However, according to the ranking in the chart of UNWTO, ICCA and UFI, the difference between Shanghai and the worlds top convention cities is obvious (Dao, 2007). Compared with other international convention and exhibition destinations, Shanghai is at a very early stage in terms of the development of the convention industry, especially 80

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in aspects of unimproved management systems, lack of competent convention personnel and so on (Lu,2004). The global competition in the convention tourism industry is very fierce. There is no need to compare it with leading destinations such as the U.S.A and France, as Shanghai still falls behind Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong in either accumulated experience or technology development. Better city. Better life. is the theme of 2010 Shanghai World Expo, and it is also the development goal and direction of the Shanghai convention and exhibition industry. Tourists have witnessed the development of the Shanghai convention and exhibition industry in their travel experiences and their holistic experience and perception are the target source of empirical research. The success of the Shanghai convention tourism industry very much depends on continual improvement based on tourists perceptions and feedback about the convention service quality. Yet no vigorous research has explored this particular topic of assessing tourists perceived features of the Shanghai convention and exhibition industry, which is also the reason to conduct this case study. Through exploring the importance and performance of perceived features of the industry, this study aimed at providing related government sectors and industry practitioners with further effective promotion strategies and measures that would be more beneficial for the development of the Shanghai convention industry, so that the theme of the 2010 World Expo Better city, Better life. can be truly achieved.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Research on convention tourism 1) Internal research on convention tourism Although the importance of and the demand for the development of MICE tourism are very obvious, the related research and studies did not start until the late 1980s (Yoo & Chon, 2005). The survey conducted by Yoo and Weber in 2005 pointed out that 115 MICE research articles focusing on the industry phenomena in recent 20 years emerged in 14 academic journals of tourism study between 1983 and 2003(Yoo & Weber,2005). The MICE industry has developed rapidly in recent years. There are quite a few academic researches on MICE tourism and the main research topic focused on the points below: 1) Contribution of MICE infrastructures and practical operation on MICE company management and marketing strategy. Song (2007) conducted general research on the transportation demand of high profile MICE activities; Zhang, Huang (2007) conducted research on transportation facilities of MICE tourism and elicited beneficial revelations for the Chinese MICE industry based on the industry experience of Germany; Wang (2007) explored the basic characteristics of MICE realty 81

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and analyzed the importance of MICE realty development; Guo (2007) tried to establish an initial strategic framework to provide reference to industry practitioners from the strategic consideration of MICE enterprises. 2) Evaluation and suggestions for the development of Chinese MICE cities. Zhao (2007) made an integrated evaluation of the advantages and weakness of MICE industries in different cities during the fierce inter-competition; Wang (2007) analyzed the driving impact of MICE tourism and further suggested that the development of MICE tourism should be acted on according to the actual circumstance of the destination city; Chen (2007) analyzed the qualifications of Hangzhou, the central city in the south of the Yangtze River Delta, to develop MICE tourism and thus discussed the market orientation and development strategy; Yu (2007) pointed out the current problems of MICE tourism in Fujian Province and advanced suggestions for its development; Zhang (2007) analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of MICE tourism in Chengdu in aspects of the economy, city and industry. 3) Industrial economy of MICE industry and its impact. Chen (2005) conducted research on the MICE economy and introduced the demand, supply and benefit of MICE industry; Li (2003) advanced the basic formula to calculate the economic benefit of MICE tourism and measures to increase the positive effects and reduce the negative impact. 4) Research in relation to Chinas two hot events. With the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo approaching, many researchers conducted studies from diverse aspects including exploring the economic impact of the 2008 Olympic Games (Dong, 2004; Yang, 2005), predicting the economic benefit of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo (Wang, 2003; Hu, 2003 ) and Zhang (2004) conducted a comparative anticipation of the economic impact of the two events. 2) External research on convention tourism As important tourism attractions, high profile events and exhibitions not only have a considerable impact on the economic income of the destination, but also change the life pattern of residents in host and nearby communities (Zhao, 2005). The research topics included: 1) Introductory research, which mainly explained the definition, type, position, importance and development status of MICE tourism (Hall, 1992; Getz, 1993). 2) Decision-making process of MICE venue selection and planning (Bonn & Boyd, 1992; Bonn, Brand & Ohlin 1994; Fenich, 2001; Go & Zhang, 1997.); 82

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3) Perceptions of MICE organizers and planners (Gursoya, Kimb & Uysalc, 2004; Chang, 2005). 4) Impact on MICE destination, especially the economic impact (Nicholson & Pearce,2001; Mohr, Backman, Gahan & Backman,1993; Scheneider & Backman,1996; Kim, Scott, Thigpen & Kim,1998); 5) MICE participants and their behaviour (Grant & Oppermann,1995; Yoo & Chon, 2005); 6) MICE management, which mainly consisted of research on CVBs and studies of MICE management theory and practice (Chon,1991). Research on CVBs mainly concerned the integrated introduction of CVBs and its function, role and strategy (Young & Montgomery 1998; Weber, 2001; Getz, Anderson & Sheehan, 1998); 7) Qualification and image of MICE destination. Oppermann (1996) employed the IPA analysis to explore the advantages and disadvantages of MICE destinations; Qu, Li & Gilder (2000) conducted comparative research on the competition issue of two international MICE citiesHong Kong and Singapore; Lee & Josiam advanced a framework for assessing national convention tourism competitiveness; 8) Destination citizens reactions and perceptions of MICE tourism. Quite a few foreign scholars were attracted to and conducted destination community or residents perceptions of MICE impact, especially the impact of large-scale sports events like the Olympic Games (Waitt, 2003) and the World Cup (Kim&Petrick,2005), while other events were not fully involved. Through the longitude research conducted before, during and after the event, it was found that obvious difference existed in destination residents perceptions and attitudes of different stages. Soutar (1993) conducted research on residents perceptions of economic impact and physical congestion before, during and after the American Cup. Interestingly residents had low perceptions of the physical congestion one year before the American Cup, but they had high perceptions of economic impacts and physical congestion one year after the end of this event (Zhao, 2005). Generally scholars thought that the successful operation of MICE or events not only depended on a single building attraction or individual passion, but also needed positive cooperation and participation of the whole community (Janiskee,1994; Elizabeth Fredline, 2000; Jeong & Faulkner, 1996). MICE tourism plays an important role in the destination society. In addition to enhancing the cultural pride, MICE tourism could also introduce exotic culture and life into the local community (Getz, 1993). The destination citizens positive attitude could influence the experiences and feelings of external tourists and thus increase the fame and charm of the host city. However, the negative impacts of MICE tourism should be also perceived and necessary control and efficient management should be also matched with other factors to reduce the negative impact and maximize the positive benefit (Fredline, 2000). 83

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The IPA application in convention tourism research 1) IPA application in external convention tourism research Since the 1970s, the importance-performance analysis (IPA), widely used by many researchers in various areas, especially product and service quality, has been proven to be a popular managerial tool (Zhang, 2004). It is based on the comparison of importance and performance of service quality attributes developed by Martilla and James (1977). They found the IPA to be a useful technique for addressing both importance and performance attribute questions. They declared IPA to be a lowcost, easily understood technique for exploring different aspects of the marketing mix, and enabling managers to reallocate resources according to the four areas identified (Zhang, 2004). Evans and Chon (1989) represented an early application of IPA analysis and used the IPA technique to develop and assess tourism policy in two destinations in the United States, and found IPA to be an effective tool. Oppermann (1996) applied IPA to explore the advantages and disadvantages of convention destinations. Qu, Li and Gilder (2000) conducted an empirical case study to compare the competitive strength of two international convention cities, Hong Kong and Singapore. Based on the model of Crouch and Ritchie, Enright and Newton (2004) conducted an IPA quantitative assessment of Hong Kong as a convention destination by asking tourists to score each attribute in relation to destination competitiveness. Almanza, Jaffe and Lin (1994) employed IPA to evaluate consumers satisfaction with the catering industry. Duke and Persia (1996) examined the performance of domestic escorted tours and pointed out that IPA could provide an insight to help researchers explore consumers evaluations of critical issues in the tourism industry. The comparison between perceived importance and performance on the IPA grid allows managers to identify the relative features of successful tours (Zhang, 2004). Chu and Choi (2000) compared the perceived importance and performance of 26 hotels in Hong Kong among two groups of business travellers and leisure visitors, and suggested that the hotel managers could develop target marketing strategies according to the IPA analysis results. They also improved researches by Evans and Chon (1989), Hemmasi, Strong and Taylor(1994), Keyt, Yavas and Riecken(1994), Martilla and James(1977), and Martin (1995) and provided explanations of the four-grid IPA chart.
QUADRANT I Concentrate Here High Importance Low Performance IMPORTANCE QUADRANT III Low Priority Low Importance Low Performance QUADRANT II Keep Up the Good Work High Importance High Performance QUADRANT IV Possible Overkill Low Importance High Performance

PERFORMANCE

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Notes: Quadrant I:

Attributes are perceived to be very important to respondents, but performance levels are fairly low. This suggests that improvement efforts should be concentrated here.

Quadrant II: Attributes are perceived to be very important to respondents, and at the same time, the organization seems to have high levels of performance in these activities. The message here is to keep up the good work. Quadrant III: Attributes here are rated as having low importance and low performance. Although performance levels may be low in this cell, managers should not be overly concerned, since the attributes in this cell are not perceived to be very important. Limited resources should be expended on this low priority cell. Quadrant IV: This cell contains attributes of low importance, but performance is relatively high. Respondents are satisfied with the performance of the organization, but managers should consider present efforts on the attributes of this cell as being superfluous / unnecessary. Source: Chu and Choi (2000) Figure 1: Importance-performance analysis grid 2) IPA application in internal convention tourism research The domestic tourism research in relation to IPA application mainly focused on aspects of travel destination, tourism practice and industrial competition. The representative research includes that of Zhang and Chow (2004) who employed IPA to assess the performance of Hong Kongs tour guides as perceived by mainland Chinese outbound visitors. Their study illustrated that the IPA model is a useful managerial tool to be applied in identifying areas to which marketing resources should be allocated in order to improve and enhance the quality of tour guide services provided. Wen (2007) applied IPA to systematically analyze the data, which in turn guides the researcher in advancing reasonable suggestions for the Kunming travel service. Zhang and Yang (2007) conducted an empirical study on the Xujiahui District in Shanghai through IPA and analyzed its competitiveness as a destination for business travel. Song and Zheng (2006) used IPA to analyze Xian tourists perceptions of Hainan as a tourism destination. Zhang and Zhang (2007) explored the service quality of travel agencies from tourists points of view with IPA and further claimed that tourists perceptions of travel agencies performance is the theoretical base for the practical improvement of travel agencies service quality and tourists satisfaction. Liu and Gao (2006) employed 85

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the research methods of both IPA and Co-Plot to analyze tour guides services from tourists points of view. Huang (2006) used IPA to examine the competitiveness of the Fujian Province as an inbound travel destination in the Chinese market. Liu and Wu (2006) used IPA to analyze the service attributes that influence tourists satisfaction with travel products and compared the common and different perceptions of two groups taking business travel and leisure tours respectively. Chen (2005) chose Shanghai to conduct the case study on its competiveness as a convention destination.

METHODOLOGY
Research instrument Based on the review of literature at home and abroad, the draft questionnaire was initially created. Through the in-depth personal interview, this study adopted suggestions and opinions from officials in the Shanghai Tourism Enterprise Management Council, industry practitioners and experts in Shanghai MICE industry to revise the initially designed questionnaire. The final target perceived features of the Shanghai convention tourism industry included 26 items. The first section of the questionnaire began with asking respondents how important each of the 26 feature statements is on a Likert five-point rating scale where 1=not important and 5=very important. The second section dealt with the performance of the Shanghai convention and exhibition industry and required respondents to evaluate the same 26 attributes, using the same rating scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The last session of the questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic information about the respondents including gender, age, education level, income level and occupation. Before conducting the main survey, the questionnaire was pre-tested by using data collected from a convenient sample of 50 individual attendees at the 2007 Shanghai World Travel Fair. The emphasis in the early stage was on enhancing the readability and clarity of the questions. Feedback from these 50 attendees helped this study by further revision of unclear and obscure statements and expressions in the questionnaire. Data collection The main survey was carried out from January until May 2007 by well trained undergraduate students from the Department of Tourism Management in Fudan University. Two thirds of the research students were Shanghai local citizens, which made it very convenient for them to carry out investigations into and around their own communities. Considering the cost and time (DeVellis, 1999), this study employed the random sampling method to conduct the survey. A total of 600 questionnaires were sent out and 543 usable ones were collected. Owing

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to 10 of them not being completed entirely, the final samples consisted of 533 respondents .The response rate was 90.5% and the effective rate was 90%, which met the standard for subsequent data analysis. Data analysis Descriptive analyses such as frequency, mean and standard deviation were conducted to examine tourists social-demographic profiles. Cronbachs alpha was calculated to test the reliability of the importance of each attribute and the performance of the Shanghai convention industry as perceived by tourists. A factor was considered significant if its Cronbachs alpha was 0.70 or above. Mean scores rated the perceived importance of features of the convention industry and performance of the Shanghai convention industry. Then, the mean scores of the 26 attributes were plotted on the IPA grid according to their perceived importance and the performance levels as perceived by tourists. Research framework Based on the research design, the research framework was developed to guide the research (Figure 1).
Perceived importance Feature attributes of the Shanghai convention tourism industry

Literature review Main study In-dept interview Pre-text

Interrelationship

IPA

Performance evaluation

Figure 2: The empirical research framework of the study

RESULTS
Importance of the perceptions of feature attributes This study first focused on tourists perceptions of the importance of Shanghai convention industry features. In order to reflect the holistic importance of perceptions, the study examined the means and standard deviations of each attribute, as can be seen from their score ranking in Table 1 below.

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Table 1: The ranking of tourists perceptions of the importance of Shanghai convention tourism industry features (N=533)
Feature attributes Association and organization propaganda To increase the local fame Social image upgrade Commercial opportunities To facilitate infrastructure construction Social pride enhancement The geographic location of the convention is good Local culture protection and promotion Economic benefit for city planning projects To attract more tourists Entertainment program for local residents Employment opportunities The catering service is good The content of the convention is rich The media promotion of the convention is strong The topic of the convention is new The theme of the convention is unique To tighten the relationship between local residents and external tourists Education effect on local residents To improve the local standard of living Environmental deterioration can be controlled Crime rate can be reduced Residents life would not be affected No raising of the local cost of living Pressure on public facilities can be reduced Transportation congestion can be avoided Mean score 5.17 4.39 4.24 4.24 4.21 4.17 4.16 4.12 4.10 3.98 3.95 3.95 3.90 3.88 3.87 3.82 3.82 3.74 3.74 3.58 3.34 3.22 3.08 3.06 3.05 2.93 Standard deviation 0.925 0.897 0.954 0.951 0.962 0.965 0.970 0.026 0.986 0.010 0.987 0.105 0.969 0.990 0.078 0.018 0.010 0.029 0.125 0.190 0.241 0.236 0.249 0.299 0.270 0.310 Rank 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Note: The importance in rankings were based on the mean scores measured on a Likert scale from 1 to 5 (1=extremely unimportant, 2=unimportant, 3=neutral, 4=important, 5=extremely important). It can be perceived from the table above that the mean scores of 26 Shanghai convention industry features attributes range from 2.93 to 5.17, indicating that

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the respondents ranked all these attributes importantly, more specifically, between important and extremely important. The standard deviations of all these attributes are below 1, hence the differences in tourists evaluation and perceptions are slight. The top four most important attributes were Association and organization propaganda(M =5.17)To increase the local fame(M =4.39)Social image upgrade(M=4.24)and Commercial opportunities(M =4.24), indicating that tourists perceived these attributes as most important factors for Shanghai convention and exhibition industry quality. However, although the mean scores of all these aforementioned attributes were high, their standard deviations were relatively high, indicating that tourists highly valued these attributes, but differed in their individual opinions. As the centre of the economy and finance in Mainland China, Shanghai has provided a great platform for trade and commercial exchange for business sectors and thus the economic benefit has become the most important concern for convention tourists. Particularly, with the soaring economy, Shanghai has the goal of becoming an international city, along with enhancing the social image and fame of the city. Therefore, hosting conventions and exhibitions could help tourists know more about Shanghai. Furthermore, convention tourism can also provide an exchange platform for mutual benefit which would not only help the world learn more about fast growing Shanghai and enhance Shanghais fame and pride, but also offer a wide window for Shanghai to know more about the outside and obtain opportunities and experiences for development. Hence, Social pride enhancement (M =4.17) is also a most important goal for the Shanghai convention industry to pursue. In a word, the economic benefit and public image were important factors influencing the convention destination. On the other hand, Transportation congestion can be avoided (M =2.93)Pressure on public facilities can be reduced(M =3.05)No increase in the local cost of living(M =3.06)and Residents lives would not be affected(M =3.08) have been regarded as the less important features of the Shanghai convention tourism industry. Not only were their mean scores relatively low, but their standard deviations were small, indicating tourists perception of their importance was low. Convention tourism would definitely bring a social cost to the destination, which is more relevant to local residents, and thus tourists who just stay for a while have not really perceived the importance of avoiding the social cost of convention tourism. As a coin has two sides, the convention tourism can bring about both positive and negative impacts. Sound management of the event (and other elements of the destination associated with it hinges on the ability of those responsible to avoid, or at least ameliorate, the negative impacts and accentuate the positive ones. Performance of perceptions of feature attributes This study also examined the mean score of tourists perceptions of the performance of 26 attributes of the Shanghai industry. The results of the ranking are as below: 89

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Table 2: The ranking of tourists perceptions of the performance of Shanghai

convention tourism industry features (N = 533) Mean score 4.03 3.83 3.83 3.83 3.82 3.76 3.74 3.70 3.65 3.65 3.61 3.55 3.53 3.52 3.50 3.46 3.43 3.43 3.33 3.28 3.17 Standard deviation 0.022 0.997 0.048 0.046 0.024 0.122 0.110 0.920 0.124 0.921 0.163 0.710 0.177 0.096 0.077 0.133 0.153 0.107 0.130 0.940 0.269

Feature statements Hosting the convention has increased local fame Hosting the convention has attracted more tourists Hosting the convention has brought about more economic benefit for city planning projects Hosting the convention has facilitated infrastructure construction Hosting the convention has upgraded the local social image Hosting the convention has provided more employment opportunities Hosting the convention has enhanced social pride Hosting the convention has brought about more commercial opportunities Hosting the convention has protected and promoted local culture Hosting the convention has increased the fame of associations and organizations The geographic location of the convention is good Hosting the convention has provided more entertainment Hosting the convention has educated local residents Hosting the convention has tightened the relationship between local residents and external tourists The content of the convention is rich The media promotion for the convention is strong Hosting the convention has increased the local standard of living The theme of the convention is unique The catering service is good The topic of the convention is new Hosting the convention has not worsened environmental deterioration

Rank 1 2 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 15 16 17

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Hosting the convention has not increased the local crime rate Hosting the convention has not increased the local cost of living Hosting the convention has not affected residents lives Hosting the convention has not increased transportation congestion Hosting the convention has not increased pressure on public facilities

3.08 3.04 2.97 2.88 2.81

0.167 0.223 0.249 0.258 0.124

18 19 20 21 22

Note: The performance rankings were based on the mean scores measured on a Likert scale from 1 to 5 (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree). The mean scores of the performance statements about tourists perceptions of the performance of Shanghai convention tourism industry features of the same 26 statements were calculated in Table 2. The mean scores of 26 statements range from 2.81 to 4.03. Compared to the importance of the perceptions listed in Table1, it was obvious that the perceptions of the Shanghai convention tourism industry performance were relatively low, indicating that the actual performance of the industry slightly lowered their expectations. Similarly, the standard deviations of 26 performance statements were also lower than 1. Tourists gave the top ratings to Hosting the convention has increased the local fame( M =4.03),Hosting the convention has attracted more tourists(M =3.83),Hosting the convention has brought about more economic benefit for city planning projects( M =3.83),Hosting the convention has facilitated infrastructure construction(M =3.83)and Hosting the convention has upgraded the local social image( M =3.82), among which Hosting the convention has increased the local fame was not only the statement with the highest mean score, but also the one with the lowest standard deviation, indicating that tourists have common opinions about this statement. Other aspects, such as fame, attraction, public economic development and social impetus were all regarded as performing well by the Shanghai convention tourism industry. It was therefore suggested that Shanghai convention tourism practitioners should continue to put effort into enhancing these industry advantage and further improve convention tourism development. In contrast, the five worst ratings by tourists were given to Hosting the convention has not increased local crime rate(M =3.08),Hosting the convention has not increased the local cost of living( M =3.04),Hosting the convention has not affected residents lives(M =2.97),Hosting the convention has not increased transportation congestion(M =2.88),Hosting the convention has not increased pressure on public facilities(M =2.81). It is a significant that the most unimportant features perceived by tourists have become the most unsatisfactory 91

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features of the Shanghai convention tourism industry. The negative impacts of the convention tourism industry on one hand decrease the living quality and increase the living costs; on the other hand they influence the destination image perceived by tourists. Therefore, infrastructure construction matched with a fast growing convention tourism industry should also be paid close attention by Shanghai tourism related government sectors, including the establishment of the accident prevention forecasting system, expansion of public traffic transportation, improvement of catering and lodging sectors and so on. Furthermore, decisionmaking on convention location and the subsequent impact on nearby residents and public safety enhancement should also be involved in the destination planning. Perceived importance and performance of Shanghai convention tourism industry feature attributes IPA was applied to compare the importance and performance of convention industry feature attributes perceived by tourists. It was a low-cost, easily understood technique for exploring different aspects of the marketing mix, and enabling managers to reallocate resources according to the four areas identified (Zhang, 2004). This research further used IPA to help recommend proper allocation of resources to areas requiring future industry improvement. The mean scores and standard deviations of the perceived importance and performance of the 26 attributes perceived by tourists were calculated in Table 3 and then plotted in the IPA grid in Figure 3. As shown in the figure, the grand means for importance and performance were used for the placement of the axes on the grid (Chu & Choi, 2000).

Important

Performance

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Notes: A. Association and organization propaganda B. To increase the local fame C. Social image upgrade D. Commercial opportunities E. To facilitate infrastructure construction F. Social pride enhancement G. The geographic location of the convention is good H. Local culture protection and promotion I. Economic benefit for city planning projects N. The conte nt of the convention is rich O. The media promotion for the convention is strong P. The topic of the convention is new Q. The theme of the convention is unique R. To tighten relationships between local residents and external tourists S. Education effect on local residents T. To increase the local standard of living U. Environmental deterioration can be controlled V. Crime rate can be reduced W. Residents lives would not be affected X. No increase in the local cost of living Y. Pressure on public facilities can be reduced Z. Transportation congestion can be avoided

J. To attract more tourists K. Entertainment program for local residents L. Employment opportunities M. The catering service is good

Figure 3 The IPA grid for Shanghai convention industry features Quadrant I was the Concentrate here quadrant and it included two attributes M and O. As shown in Figure 3, the two attributes identified were both rated above average for importance but below average on performance. It was suggested that the resources of the Shanghai convention industry should be mainly enhanced in the areas of improving catering conditions and media promotion. Tourists perceived

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highly the importance of the two attributes, The catering service is good and The media promotion for the convention is strong. However, the performance of these features was not regarded as very satisfactory by tourists. These two aspects should be emphasised in future work in the Shanghai convention industry. Efforts should be mainly put into, for example, improving catering quality and type, especially for those special groups who are exotic tourists or have national customs. Although the national diet of each culture differs, as an international convention city, Shanghai should try its best to meet the general catering needs of tourists from all over the world. In terms of media promotion, the main marketing and promotion efforts should focus on establishing information channels with the characteristics of easy access, wide cover, fast spread, rich content and high attention. For instance, special reports about convention preparation progress, TV propaganda programs, public service advertisements and so on are suggested. Meanwhile, website building for a specific convention is also a good path to achieve strategies of maximum benefit (Guo, 2007). Quadrant II was the Keep up the good work quadrant and 13 attributes were indentified in this quadrant, including A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,N. As shown in Figure 3, 13 perceived feature attributes were rated by tourists as above average for both importance and performance. The implication of this quadrant was that most of the 26 attributes belonged to it, including Association and organization propaganda, To increase the local fame, Social image upgrade, Commercial opportunities, To facilitate infrastructure construction, Social pride enhancement, The geographic location of the convention is good, Local culture protection and promotion, Economic benefits for city planning projects, To attract more tourists, Entertainment program for local residents, Employment opportunities and The content of the convention is rich. Generally speaking, the performance of the Shanghai convention industry in the above aspects was good and tourists were satisfied with them. But it was also worthy of note that, except for Association and organization propaganda, the performance of the remaining attributes was rated lower than the importance. Hence, it is suggested that on one hand, the Shanghai convention industry should keep up the good work on these aspects, on the other hand, maintaining and improving the advantage was also important. For example, most tourists rated the performance of Entertainment program for local residents as 3.55, indicating respondents basically agreed that the entertainment arrangement was good but there was still room to improve. Hence, the Shanghai convention industry should pay extra attention to planning interactive entertainment and activities between tourists and local residents, which could provide more exciting extra curricula highlights in the convention. Quadrant III was the Low priority quadrant and 9 attributes of P, Q, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z were located in this quadrant. They were The topic of the convention is new, The theme of the convention is unique, To increase the local standard of living, Environmental deterioration can be controlled, Crime rate can be reduced, Residents lives would not be affected, No increase in the local cost of living, Pressure on public facilities can be reduced and 94

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Transportation congestion can be avoided, which were rated as below average for both importance and performance. This implies that the Shanghai convention tourism industry should not use many resources in this quadrant. Although the performance of each attribute was not regarded as very satisfactory by tourists, the current work emphasis is not on improving the performance of them, for compared with others these attributes have not been perceived as very important factors by tourists. However, this is not to say that attributes in this quadrant can be put aside. On one hand, their mean scores of importance were higher than 3.0 and much room was available for their further enhancement; on the other hand, if they are not paid attention to, they could produce a negative impact and decrease performance. Quadrant IV was the Possible overkill quadrant and attributes of R and S were identified in this quadrant. This indicated that these attributes were rated as lower than the average in importance, and that the performance of them in this area was higher than the average. It was obvious that tourists had a positive evaluation of the Shanghai convention tourism industry in areas as To tighten the relationship between local residents and external tourists and an Education effect on Local residents, but efforts should be towards maintaining high standards without overutilizing resources in this area.

RESEARCH CONCLUSION AND LIMITATION

This study applied IPA to explore tourists perceptions of 26 identified pertinent features of the Shanghai convention tourism industry and compare them according to their perceived importance and performance by tourists. 15 of the 26 attributes received positive feedback from most of the surveyed tourists, ranging from the economic impact, social effect and society impetus. However, good hardware and software are essential for Shanghai as a convention city and convention operation and management are also important issues for the Shanghai convention industry to keep exploring. Reducing the unavoidable social cost as much as possible is also a key concern for the future development of the Shanghai convention tourism industry. Therefore, according to the IPA results explored above, this study advanced suggestions for the marketing resources relocation of the Shanghai convention tourism industry, aiming to better achieve the healthy development of the Shanghai convention tourism industry. This study has paved the way for other avenues to be pursed in the future. However, as expected in all research, limitations to this study were found and should be addressed to encourage more sound research in the future. The surveyed data only reflected the current situation which will change in the future. Given some time, there may be possibly different forms of motivation change to affect the research results as the external environment is so dynamic. A longitudinal study that makes it possible to analyze tourists perceptions in a certain period should be introduced in further studies, which may be an effective way to evaluate 95

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tourists perceived importance and performance of the Shanghai convention tourism industry. Only the data advancing with the time will significantly aid future research on this important topic.

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