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International Business Tourism: Destination Dublin or Destination Ireland?

Article  in  Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing · October 2007

DOI: 10.1300/J073v22n03_05

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 International Business Tourism:
Destination Dublin or Destination Ireland?
Paul Byrne
Heather Skinner

ABSTRACT. The Republic of Ireland has been running the same basic brand proposition in its
various marketing campaigns for some decades (Morgan, Pritchard and Pride, 2002). However, it
is unclear whether the destination brand construct that has served Ireland’s general tourism market
so well can apply equally when attracting business tourism to Dublin, the nation’s capital city.
This research primarily applies repertory grid analysis and on-line focus groups to under-
stand the brand of Dublin, the capital of Ireland, and explores the way the marketing of a na-
tional capital city for business tourism both influences, and is influenced by, the marketing of the
nation itself. doi:10.1300/J073v22n03_05 [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery
Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <docdelivery@haworthpress.com> Website: <http://www.
HaworthPress.com> Ó 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Business tourism, Dublin, Ireland, destination brand

DEFINING THE BUSINESS and tourism industry little academic research

TOURISM MARKET has focussed on this industry.” A view echoed
by Hankinson (2005), who believes that this
Bradley, Hall and Harrison (2002) define gap in the research is a serious omission.
business tourism as “travel associated with at- Data on the nature and scope of the business
tendance at corporate or association meetings, tourism market are somewhat difficult to eval-
conferences, conventions or congresses or pub- uate, particularlyduetothedifficultiesindefining
lic or trade exhibitions.” They also recognise the market itself. The World Trade Organization
that business tourism has emerged as a signifi- (WTO) therefore recommends that its nomencla-
cant sub-section of the tourist industry both in ture be the ‘meetings industry,’ and thatdefinitions
terms of volume of travel and expenditure gen- of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Ex-
erated. Kotler, Haider and Rein (1993) have hibitions (MICE) sector be broadened to include
also recognised the importance of business all“activities based on theorganisation,promotion,
tourism as a key target segment for those re- sales and delivery of meetings and events; products
sponsible for marketing places. Despite this, and services that include corporate, association and
Oppermann (1996) identified that, “although government meetings, corporate incentives, semi-
convention and meeting tourism constitutes nars, congresses, conferences, conventions
one of the most important segments of the travel events, exhibitionsand fairs” (WTO, 2006:4).
Brent W. Ritchie, BA, DipTour, PhD. Director, Centre for Tourism Research, University of Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia and School of Service Management, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, BN20 7UR, United Kingdom, Tel: + 61 6201 5016, Fax: + 61 6201 2550, Email: Brent.Ritchie@canberra.edu.au. His research interests include urban and national capital tourism including schools educational tourism, the economic significance of attractions and the role of tourism in building national identity.

Paul Byrne is Lecturer in International Marketing, EAE-Escuela de Administracion de Empresas, C/Arago,

08015 Barcelona, Spain/Corporate Event Management Consultant (E-mail: byrnepb1@eircom.net). Heather Skinner
is Lecturer in Marketing, Glamorgan Business School, University of Glamorgan, Wales, UK CF37 1DL (E-mail:
hskinner@glam.ac.uk).
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Vol. 22(3/4) 2007
Available online at http://jttm.haworthpress.com
Ó 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1300/J073v22n03_05 55
56 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
THE RELEVANCE OF PLACE
BRANDING TO THE MEETINGS
INDUSTRY
Go and Govers (2000) argue that “due to the
effects of globalisationthe competition(. . .) has
shifted from interfirm competition to the com-
petition between destinations.” Most recent
evaluations of the meetings industry agree that
it is experiencing an upturn in fortunes since
2005 following several years of decline evi-
denced since 2000 (WTO, 2006). While Eu-
rope is still the dominant player in this market
its share has seen the most marked decline in re-
cent years reflecting growing competition from
emerging destinations such as China and Dubai
(WTO, 2006).
Metelka (1981) believes that, “like product
and service brands, destination brands generate
sets of expectations or images of a place prior to
consumption,” while Hankinson (2001) refers
to the recognition by marketers that “branding
can make an effective contribution to the eco-
nomic development of places such as towns and
cities.”
‘Destination branding’ is the term most often
used when discussing branding places for tour-
ism. Indeed, Hankinson (2004) believes that “it
is probably in the area of tourism marketing
that place branding is most developed.” The
terms place marketing and place branding are
often also used to describe the wider applica-
tion of marketing practices to places. How-
ever, while place branding is now widespread
in practice (Hankinson, 2004) and widely stud-
ied (Papadopoulos and Heslop, 2002), there
does not appear to be universal understanding
of many of the terms used in these debates
(Skinner and Croft, 2004). Indeed Kavaratsis
(2005) has found some evidence of confusion
over the term ‘place branding’ itself.
Hankinson (2005) notes that the application
of place branding now extends beyond the tra-
ditional areas of inward investment and leisure
tourism to include a wider role in attracting new
residents, new employees and business tourists
to a location, while Karmowska (1996) refers to
“the importance of cultural heritage in the com-
petition between cities when organising con-
ferences and congresses,” seen as one of the
most important sources of income for many
European historic cities.
CREATING A UNIQUE IDENTITY
Morgan, Pritchard and Pride (2002) have
found that, “every country claims a unique cul-
ture, landscape and heritage, each place de-
scribes itself as having the friendliest people,
and high standards of customer service and fa-
cilities are now expected.” As a result, the need
for destinations to create a unique identity in or-
der to differentiate themselves from their com-
petitors is more crucial than ever.
Another attendant problem is that arising
from place marketers who must effectively
segment their offerings to meet the often con-
flicting needs, wants and behaviours of vari-
ous target markets (Hannagan, 1992) while
communicating often conflicting messages
about one place to these various market seg-
ments (Skinner, 2005).
Gilmore (2001) suggests that the running of
countries is no different from the running of a
large company and that brand thinking can ac-
cordingly be applied to countries as it can to
companies. She accordingly suggests that the
potential for countries to gain a niche position
in the global arena is there for the taking. An
emerging trend of thought in place marketing is
therefore the development of “corporate identi-
ties” for places in adopting a more sophisti-
cated, all-embracing strategy, more accurately
reflecting the complexities of place marketing
and the numerous stakeholders and end-users at
whom campaigns may be targeted (Anholt,
2002; Skinner and Croft, 2004). Olins (2001),
for example, has identified that over the past
few decades some nations like Spain and Aus-
tralia whose realities have changed have very
carefully and deliberately adapted the tech-
niques used by corporations in marketing them-
selves and their products and services in order
to help them project a new or revised or in some
way modified view of themselves.
Today “most country images are in fact ste-
reotypes, extreme simplifications of the reality
that are not necessarily accurate” (Kotler and
Gertner, 2002). Stereotypes concerning some
countries are strong and internationally recog-
nised (see for example Powell, 2001), while
other countries have not developed their
images yet.
However, much of the literature that does ex-
ist relates to the brand of the nation state, al-
 Paul Byrne and Heather Skinner
though there is a growing body of research that
is now examining the brands of places within
nations. For example Ward (1998) cites suc-
cessful campaigns such as Glasgow’s “Smiles
better” and New York’s “I love NY” being well
documented.
Karmowska (1996) has stated that, city mar-
keting involves, above all, “the fashioning of
the product and its image in such a way that its
recipients will see it as we wish them to.” There-
fore, city marketing has an extremely important
function to play, forming a kind of bridge be-
tween the potential represented by the city, and
the use of this potential for the benefit of the lo-
cal society, nation and even in geographically
and socially wider terms.
BRAND IRELAND
AND BRAND DUBLIN
Morgan, Pritchard and Pride (2002) referred
to place brands that have strong marketing heri-
tages and are consistent, but at the same time
evolve and appear continually contemporary
and fresh. They accordingly cite Ireland as an
example of a country which has been running
the same basic brand proposition in its various
campaigns for some decades and while market-
ing directors and executives change the brand
values remain constant. While Ireland’s na-
tional tourism bodies continue to focus on the
country’s stunning natural landscapes, friendly
people and a strong sense of culture, Dublin
Tourism aims to position the city in the interna-
tional marketplace as “a separate and distinct
brand that appeals to business and leisure trav-
ellers alike” (Dublin Tourism, 2003), differen-
tiating Dublin from the competition and from
the traditional image put forward in promoting
the rest of Ireland. McManus (2001) notes that
in Dublin in the late 1980’s tourism could con-
tribute to a then ailing city economy. The accor-
dant improvements in the cities fortunes which
ensued were underlined by McManus’s (2001)
assertion that, “in the past, it was common for
arriving tourists to leave the city almost imme-
diately in search of the much promoted green
idyll. However, increasingly tourist arrivals are
staying longer in the Capital and may not travel
elsewhere.”
57
BUSINESS TOURISM IN IRELAND
The Republic of Ireland, the Celtic Tiger na-
tion, is a European success story in terms of eco-
nomic growth (Connolly and McGing, 2006).
Ireland has been identified as exceptional along
with one or two other European destinations in
rating highly amongst statistics for general
tourism in Europe but, by comparison, fairing
relatively poorly for conference and business
tourism. In terms of business tourism, in 2002
there were 121,000 overseas visitors attending
conferences and meetings in Ireland. Of these,
an estimated 44,000 were attending association
conferences, up from 37,000 in 2001. The sec-
tor has performed very well in recent years with
visitor numbers increasing at an average rate of
7% per annum between 1997 and 2002 (Fáilte
Ireland, 2004a), “but the aftershock of Septem-
ber 11, SARS and the Iraq war continue to be
felt, and although tourism numbers were up in
2003, the revenue growth was just over 2%. A
new approach was needed, and the new national
tourism development authority, Fáilte Ireland,
is putting a lot of eggs in the business travel bas-
ket” (Business and Finance, 2004).
DUBLIN’S ROLE IN THE IRISH
BUSINESS TOURISM SECTOR
Dublin Tourism has a stated aim to continue
enhancing the positioning of Dublin, Ireland’s
capital city, in the international marketplace as
“a separate and distinct brand that appeals to
business and leisure travellers alike” (Dublin
Tourism, 2003). To this end a separate body
within Dublin Tourism, Dublin Convention
Bureau, has been formed to specifically de-
velop the nation’s capital for business tourism
purposes. Dublin Convention Bureau identi-
fies as “a destination marketing organisation
that aims to promote and position Dublin as
one of the leading meeting, conference and
event destinations in the world” (Dublin Con-
vention Bureau, 2005a). Furthermore, in
seeking to differentiate Dublin from the com-
petition and from the traditional image put for-
ward in promoting the island of Ireland, Dublin
Convention Bureau state,
58 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
if you’re looking for a glimpse of a young
lively city, with a vibrant nightlife, a
glimpse of an ancient civilisation, a cul-
tural feast, a musical odyssey, stunning
scenery, and a spectacular coastline–
you’ve come to the right place! . . . Dublin
is no longer simply mahogany, brass and a
good pint of stout–it’s also martinis, hip
fashion and cutting edge design. (Dublin
Convention Bureau, 2005b)
Fáilte Ireland (formerly Bord Fáilte, the Irish
Tourist Board), also recognises the importance
of Dublin to its business tourism strategy. Its
strategy for 2000-2006 notes the importance of
the potential contribution of business tourism
in general to flattening its peak, by being able to
attract tourists all year round (Bord Fáilte,
2000). Indeed, Dublin is the only region within
Ireland for which Fáilte Ireland has included a
specific strategic objective concerning busi-
ness tourism. However, this objective is stated
very broadly as “development of conference
and incentive visits and an events-led strategy
to build a solid year-round tourism business”
with no real identification of how Dublin
should achieve this.
Lennon and Seaton (1998) found that Dub-
lin’s growth in tourism revenues has been much
faster than other European cities. Arrivals to the
city have been steadily increasing, ensuring
record levels of visitor numbers. Dublin in-
creased its share of overseas bed-nights from
30% in 1994 to 33% in 1999, and consistently
attracts a higher share of these visitors than any
other individualregional destinationin Ireland.
As the capital city, Dublin is often at the fore-
front of tourism development initiatives, and
yet it has been recognised by Lennon and Sea-
ton (1998) that “the lack of an internationalcon-
ference and exhibition arena clearly reduces the
appeal of [Ireland’s] capital for larger elements
of the business tourism market.” Fáilte Ireland
also recognise the shortcomings of “the lack of
a national conference centre; small average size
of hotels and shortage of large scale banqueting
facilities” (Fáilte Ireland, 2004b) and that “the
lack of the National Conference Centre is a cru-
cial gap in the infrastructure for this sector”
which is now being directly addressed (Fáilte
Ireland, 2004c).
Bradley, Hall and Harrison (2002), in refer-
ring to the infrastructure for international meet-
ings identifies that, “the range of locations
within which these meetings take place in-
cludes hotels, universities, sports venues, spe-
cialist exhibition facilities and purpose-built
convention centres.” Unfortunately Ireland con-
tinues to suffer from weaknesses within these ar-
eas. Accordingly, Fáilte Ireland’s analysis of
Ireland’s position has shown that the country
finds itself in a highly competitive market with
other European destinations offering sophisti-
cated new conference centres and financial in-
centives/guarantees (Fáilte Ireland, 2004b).
THE LINK BETWEEN
BUSINESS TOURISM AND FOREIGN
DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)
Price Waterhouse Coopers (2001) have
noted that, “countries that generate/host the
largest volume of corporate meetings business
will be those that generate or receive large vol-
umes of foreign direct investment.” They have
further noted that, “corporate meeting planners
also enjoy less flexibility in their selection of
destinations–a high proportion of meetings
never taking place at a destination where the or-
ganisation does not have a representation.”
This is also the case with association meetings–
a locally-based “champion” or “ambassador”
normally being a pre-requisite–but the mem-
bership base is likely to be much more geo-
graphically spread than a company’s overseas
representation. Destination “rotation” is thus
more muted in the case of the corporate meet-
ings market. Accordingly, as identified by the
IDA, Ireland’s FDI promotional agency,
“Ireland is a key global location for the phar-
maceutical industry and currently thirteen of
the top fifteen companies in the world have
substantial operations in Ireland.” They fur-
thermore identify Ireland as “one of the most
attractive locations for investment in infor-
mation and communications technology.
Over 300 overseas ICT companies develop,
market and manufacture a wide range of
leading edge products in Ireland and seven of
the worlds top ten ICT companies have a sub-
stantial base in Ireland.” In the medical area, the
IDA identify Ireland as being, “home to 15 of
 Paul Byrne and Heather Skinner
the World’s top 25 Medical Technologies com-
panies” (www.idaireland.com).
Dublin’s ever-increasing international pro-
file in recent years should also greatly add to the
industry’s potential in Ireland; ICCA and UIA
statistics would indicate that, as with the lead-
ing tourism countries, there is a strong correla-
tion between general tourism performance and
international conference tourism performance
in leading cities. However, ICCA, as cited by
Price Waterhouse Coopers (2001) have also
identified that common features of Europe’s
top performing international conference desti-
nations are a relatively high international pro-
file, two or more dedicated convention facili-
ties, at least one dedicated convention facility
with theatre-styleseating for at least 2,500 dele-
gates and a city-based convention bureau and
whilst Dublin rates very strongly on two of
these criteria it unfortunately, again, rates very
poorly on the other two. Bradley, Hall and Har-
rison (2002) cite Law (1987) who states that the
conferences of international organisations are
attracted to places with good air links, a high
standard of facilities and an attractive image.
Ireland, despite its island status, now enjoys ex-
cellent international connections and as stated
by Morgan, Pritchard and Pride (2002), “Ire-
land has added culture, ‘coolness’ and quality
to its established identity as a laid-back,
friendly destination.” Accordingly the addition
of the long awaited national conference centre
will surely provide the window of opportunity
which the country has been waiting for in be-
coming a serious contender in the international
meetings market.
IDENTITY PROBLEMS
Dublin’s image may be seen as differing
somewhat from that which continues to be pro-
mulgated by both Fáilte Ireland and Tourism
Ireland in their respective communications strat-
egies for the island of Ireland as a whole. While
the national bodies continue to focus on the key
features of stunning natural landscapes, friendly
people and a strong sense of culture, Lennon and
Seaton (1998) state that “Dublin’s key advan-
tages appear to be, history of literature and cul-
ture, a demographic profile which is largely
young and its intangible fashionable image.”
59
This research, therefore, aims to identify the
extent to which Dublin’s positioning and prom-
inence influences, and is influenced by, the
overall perceptions of Ireland as a prospective
business tourism destination. An additional ob-
jective is to identify the role business tourism to
the capital city Dublin plays in generating gen-
eral tourism to the rest of Ireland.
METHODOLOGY
This research has primarily employed the
Repertory Grid interview technique. This
method has previously been applied in con-
sidering consumer perceptions of places
and in identifying criteria used in making
destination consumption decisions. Coshall
(2000) proposed that Repertory Grid, in
identifying tourists’ perceptions of poten-
tial destinations, would “provide a richness
of information and relevance not obtained
through other methods” and described the
method as the “operationalization” of the the-
ory of personal constructs. Pike (2003) pro-
posed that the results attained from applying
Repertory Grid Analysis in destination image
research “confirmed the value of seeking con-
sumer input when developing attribute lists for
use in structured surveys,” whilst Hankinson
(2005) applied the repertory grid technique in
collecting data on the brand image attributes as-
sociated with 15 UK destinations from a sample
of 25 organisations using business tourism fa-
cilities. The Repertory Grid interview tech-
nique applied for the research is rooted in the
Personal Construct Theory of American psy-
chologist George Kelly. One of the central as-
sumptions of the theory being that reality, and
what we make of it, is built up of contrasts rather
than absolutes, these contrasts representing out
personal construct system. Content analysis is
particularly appropriate in analysing repertory
grids where the constructs derived are all differ-
ent, been elicited rather than supplied, and it is
thus necessary to summarise the various mean-
ings present in the grids for the whole sample, in
identifying common underlying themes and in
developing categories. This research is “bot-
tom-up,” “data-led” and interpretative.
Riege (2000) outlines that in research such as
this about the relatively new area of strategic
60 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
travel and tourism marketing where phenom-
ena are not well understood and the interrela-
tionships between phenomena are not well
known, a qualitative research approach seems a
more appropriate method. However, whilst the
data in this study were primarily qualitative, a
mixture of deductive and inductive approaches
was applied in data analysis, due principally to
the application of extensive content analysis in
categorising themes. Such an approach is neces-
sitated in analysing and categorising Repertory
Grid responses for whilst Easterby-Smith et al.
(2004) identify that the repertory grid is ‘used
to understand individuals’ perceptions and
constructs used to understand and manage their
world,’ Jankowicz (2004) has described, ‘the
importance of being able to communicate your
understanding of the interviewee’s construings to
other people.’ This, Jankowicz says, ‘becomes
particularly important when you’re dealing with
several grids at a time.’ Thus, whilst constructs
derived in Repertory Grids are all different, have
been elicited rather than supplied, it is necessary
to summarise the various meanings present in
the grids for the whole sample. Accordingly, in
preserving as many of the different interviewees’
personal meanings as possible, Content Analy-
sis was followed in classifying the various con-
structs used by interviewees through a system-
atic comparison and examination in identifying
common underlying themes and in developing
categories.
The research was undertaken by conducting
interviews and on-line focus group with re-
spondents drawn from international organisa-
tions based in France, Holland, Italy, Spain,
the United Kingdom and United States. In
view of the international research focus and
inherent aim of identifying international per-
ceptions of Ireland’s brand for business tour-
ism, interviewees were drawn from interna-
tional organisations based outside Ireland and
from a range of backgrounds incorporating
International Conference Organisers within Or-
ganisations; Professional International Conference
and Event Organisers; International Academic
Conference Delegates/Organisers; and Profes-
sional Body Conference Delegates/Organisers.
Fourteen depth interviews were conducted.
Two on-line focus groups wewere also con-
vened, one comprising 7 European respon-
dents, and one with 6 respondents based in the
USA. The application of online qualitative re-
search through the on-line focus groups was
also considered highly appropriate for this
study, particularly in view of its international
research focus. As in the interviews, eFocus
group members were requested to consider
their personal constructs in the context of their
experiences in attending international confer-
ences, thus ensuring that identified destination
variables, providing the components of the
business tourism brand construct, were chosen
in relation to respondent’s personal experience.
Questions were accordingly posed to group
members over a three week period relating to
the following key areas:
• Ideal international business tourism desti-
nations and relevant choice criteria;
• Ireland’s brand for business tourism;
• Delegate considerations in attending in-
ternational conferences;
• City and country destination brands;
• Time spent in the destination pre or
post-conference;
• Ireland and Dublin’s respective brands
for business tourism.
In this respect the majority of responses de-
rived from the focus groups would also be
highly classifiable and accordingly suited to
open coding and categorisation in conducting
Content Analysis.
In addition, responses to a questionnaire were
gathered from 59 delegates (from Europe, the
USA, Africa and Australia) attending a major in-
ternational conference in Dublin. The question-
naires incorporated both qualitative and quanti-
tative features, mixing both open and closed
questions, and would thus entail a mix of analy-
sis techniques in viewing accordant responses.
FINDINGS
Initial analysis of interview responses iden-
tified 139 individual constructs having been ap-
plied. After gradual analysis a total of 18 cate-
gories emerged. Differential analysis was also
applied in identifying core variances between
conference organisers and delegate responses
within the main categories.
 Paul Byrne and Heather Skinner
Principal accordant categories identified
were:
1. Language Issues, Languages
Spoken, Level of English 9.35%
2. Destination Accessibility 8.63%
3. Destination Weather Conditions 8.63%
4. Associated Expenses and Cost 8.63%
5. Conference/Events Infrastructure:
Standards, Capacity, Capabilities 8.63%
6. Destination Culture 8.63%
7. Destination Professionalism
and Advancement:
Ease of Working in Destination 7.2%
8. Destination Safety and Security 5.75%
A total of 16 categories were identified from
the e-focus group research, corresponding to
those previously identified from interview re-
sponses. Further differential analysis was also
conducted in assessing European and U.S.
groups individually.
Principal accordant categories identified
were:
1. Destination Accessibility 15.2%
2. Conference/Events Infrastructure:
Standards, Capacity, Capabilities 13.6%
3. Destination Image:
Attractiveness and Appeal 13.6%
4. General Destination Infrastructure:
Hotels, Transport,
Communications 8.5%
5. Entertainment and Recreation
Possibilities for Extra-Conference
Leisure Activities 8.5%
7. Associated Expenses and Cost 8.5%
8. Destination Weather Conditions 6.8%
9. Language Issues, Languages
Spoken, Level of English 5.1%
Just two categories, local food/cuisine and
destination reputation for business/economic
activity, which arose through depth interviews,
did not emerge through analysis of focus group
responses, which may be explained by the more
in-depth level of discussion facilitated through
the one-to-one interviews.
The repertory grid analysis pinpoints the
over-riding perceptions of Ireland’s brand im-
age by presenting clusterings of the strongest
constructs that emerged (Figure 1). Rankings
61
of constructs are identified below in bold for in-
terview respondents and in parenthesis for
focus group respondents.
Interview respondents had indicated a ten-
dency existed to think more in terms of city than
country destinations when discussing interna-
tional business tourism. Focus group respon-
dents believed that such distinction between
cities and countries very much depended upon
the respective brand identities and levels of fa-
miliarity with the city and country.
In larger countries it is more about the
city. Smaller countries it would be more
about the entire destination.
However, there were differences depending
on where the focus group respondents were
based. Most European respondents would con-
sider Dublin before Ireland with just one re-
spondent indicating that perceptions of both
destination brands were similar. Conversely,
all 6 respondents from the USA indicated that
they would consider Ireland before Dublin.
Focus group respondents indicated that the
destination had some degree of influence in
their decisions to attend international confer-
ences. Responses also indicated that the inten-
sity of influence would vary, some respondents
identifying the destination as being of para-
mount importance, one stating that,
it is as important a consideration as the na-
ture of the conference itself.
For others, the destination was considered a
stronger secondary factor in the decision pro-
cess.
FIGURE 1. Brand Attributes of Ireland as a Desti-
nation for Business Tourism
62 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
After the subject of the conference, I
would say the destination is the prime
concern.
The theme and content would be main is-
sue. Destination could sway decision if
latter was not fully persuasive in itself.
It is generally a neutral item probably
60% of the time. However, it could be a
positive if it is a particularly unusual place
or place of personal interest. Conversely,
it could also be a turn-off.
Ninety-six per cent of questionnaire re-
sponses (n = 54) identified the conference des-
tination as being of significant or of some con-
sideration. Only 3.5% respondents (n = 2) indic-
ated that the conference destination was of no
concern. Eighty-three per cent of respondents
(n = 49) indicated that the Ireland destination had
a significant or some contributory influence on
their decision. Over half of the respondents (n =
31) indicated that they were highly influenced
by the location in Dublin. These respondents
were also asked to identify attributes upon
which their perceptions of Ireland differ from
those of Dublin for business tourism, with over-
all analysis indicated below (Figure 2).
Respondents were asked to identify particu-
lar defining characteristics they felt distinguish
Ireland or Dublin as an international confer-
ence destination. All responses were positive,
and identified as follows:
1. Friendliness and Welcome of Local Pop-
ulation
2. Entertainment and Recreation Possibilities
3. Culture & History
4. Destination Image: Attractiveness and
Appeal: Dublin
5. Accessibility
6. Language
FIGURE 2. The Country and City Brand Attributes
Compared
7. Destination Image: Attractiveness and
Appeal: Ireland
Results also indicated that 27% of respon-
dents (n = 16) had arrived early with almost half
of these (n = 26) spending just one day in Ireland
before the conference, 75% of whom had come
for general tourism purposes. Thirty per cent of
respondents (n = 18), indicated that they would
spend additional time in Dublin or Ireland after
the conference, just under 40% of whom would
stay for just one day.
DISCUSSION
The growing body of place branding and
destination marketing literature continues to be
dominated by discussions concerning nation
states rather than exploring issues surrounding
the marketing of specific places within nations.
In addition, although business tourism is seen
as of great importance to the travel and tourism
industry (Kotler, Haider and Rein, 1993;
Opperman, 1996; Bradley, Hall and Harrison,
2002; Hankinson, 2005), authors such as
Opperman (1996) and Hankinson (2005) be-
lieve that there is still a gap in the literature con-
cerning this important sector. This paper has
therefore attempted to address some of these
issues.
The Republic of Ireland continues to experi-
ence growth in the business tourism market,
however, this growth has slowed since 2002 to
just over 2%. In focusing our research on the
capital of a European nation that is still evidenc-
ing growth in this market (Lennon and Seaton,
1998; Connolly and McGing, 2006), we can ex-
plore some of the reasons why Dublin, as the
capital city of Ireland, is experiencing such
success.
The literature points to the link between the
amount of FDI generated by a nation, and the
amount of conference and meetings tourism it
generates. In this respect Dublin is in the fortu-
nate position of being able to capitalise on hav-
ing attracted FDI from many leading global
companies in pharmaceutical, medical and ICT
industries. However, the absence of an interna-
tional conference and exhibitions venue could
hamper further growth in this market (Lennon
and Seaton, 1998; Dublin Chamber of Com-
 Paul Byrne and Heather Skinner
merce 2005), although this is being addressed
by Fáilte Ireland, the tourism development au-
thority charged with managing the nation’s
tourism initiatives.
We were also keen to explore the way that the
brand development and marketing of the na-
tional capital of an urban and cosmopolitan
Dublin influences, and is influenced by, the
brand proposition of the predominantly rural
republic of Ireland.
Karmowska (1996) noted “the importance
of cultural heritage” of a destination for confer-
ences. Morgan, Pritchard and Pride (2002) con-
cur, and have identified Ireland as a nation that
has a strong heritage, but whose basic brand
proposition has remained consistent over time.
Our findings show that Ireland’s brand con-
struct is still perceived in traditional terms by
our respondents. Ireland was perceived as rural
and scenic, with fewer amenities, while Dublin
was perceived as entertaining, lively and cos-
mopolitan. Our findings also show that ease of
access to a business tourism destination,and the
facilities offered by that destination are impor-
tant for both meetings organisers and delegates
alike. In this respect the insights from our find-
ings will be of more relevance to the meetings
industry than the general tourism industry.
However, as with general tourism, Dublin is
also able to capitalise on the positive percep-
tions of Ireland as a country with a friendly and
welcoming population, with a strong cultural
heritage. This, along with the strategic focus of
Bord Fáilte (now Fáilte Ireland) on Dublin for
Ireland’s business tourism market, evidences
the importance of Dublin’s capital city status to
the meetings industry. However, this also evi-
dences the link between the brand identity of a
nation and the identity of individual place
brands within it, not least a nation’s capital.
The literature also recognises that tourists
now dwell longer in the capital and may not
travel elsewhere in Ireland, even to explore the
“much promoted green idyll” (McManus,
2001). Although 27% of interview respondents
had arrived early in order to spend some time on
recreation, almost half had only arrived one day
early. While 30% indicated they would be
spending additional time in Dublin or Ireland
after the conference, just under 40% would stay
for only one day. This time scale would not al-
low for much long-distance travel to be under-
63
taken, it would appear that Dublin has therefore
been positioned as an end destination in its own
right, despite the various tourism organisa-
tion’s efforts to gain wider benefit for the nation
from tourists initially attracted to its capital.
As a business tourism destination, Ireland
was ranked most favourably by international
interview respondents, and also by focus group
respondents from Europe and the USA due to
English being spoken. The accessibility of Ire-
land as a destination was ranked 2nd by inter-
view respondents and 3rd by focus group re-
spondents. However, the weather and the
conference infrastructure were the highest
ranking factors contributing to a negative per-
ception of Ireland by both interview and focus
group respondents. While this factor may be
off-putting for the general tourist, it may be
seen as less off-putting for visitors to a capital
city whose main purpose is for business.
Given the similarity of rankings from all re-
spondents, none of the above factors appear to
have different influences on European and in-
ternational target market segments.
However, interview respondents were more
inclined to discuss the conference destination
in terms of the host city rather than country. Fo-
cus group respondents believed that distinc-
tions between city and country very much de-
pended on the individual brand identities of
each. In this respect we also evidenced differ-
ences between European and international
markets. The brand of Dublin, the capital city of
Ireland, was seen to have more influence on Eu-
ropean respondents who may be more familiar
with its brand identity than respondents form
further afield. Moreover, all focus group re-
spondents agreed that the destination had influ-
enced their decision to attend international con-
ferences, second only to the theme of the
conference itself in some cases. This was also
the case for 96% of interview respondents, with
over half of these respondents indicating that it
was the destination of Dublin itself, rather than
Ireland, that influenced their decision to attend
a conference.
CONCLUSION
Business tourism to capital cities would
therefore appear to be able to be enhanced by:
64 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
• Attracting companies to directly invest in
the city or nearby regions
• Creating and maintaining a strong confer-
ence infrastructure
• Capitalising on the “halo effect” of posi-
tive brand perceptions of the nation state
• Targeting closer markets with the brand
of the capital city, and markets from fur-
ther afield with the brand of the nation
state that may be more familiar
The place branding literature draws, almost
exclusively, from business to consumer brand-
ing constructs. However, an emerging theme in
the literature is a consideration of the country as
corporate brand (Anholt, 2002; Skinner and
Croft, 2004) with specific destinations within
that country, and the products and services it
produces, as a portfolio of brands under the cor-
porate umbrella. This may offer a more appro-
priate framework for the various stakeholders
involved in the marketing of places. Thus al-
lowing the various influences of the country
(corporate) brand to be distinguished from the
city (product) brand in the various markets it is
targeting.
Our findings are interesting in their implica-
tion that, as a general destination brand, and as a
brand for business tourism, Ireland’s brand
profile continues to far exceed that of Dublin in
the United States. Conversely, the implication
is that, whilst in Europe the two destination
brands enjoy similar profiles, Dublin’s brand
equity for business tourism appears to exceed
that of Ireland, Dublin being perceived more so
as a conference destination than other parts of
the island. Furthermore, European responses
indicate a very clear distinction between the
two destination brands, Dublin’s brand being
perceived as cosmopolitan as against Ireland’s
more traditional, rural image. Accordingly, the
location of a conference in Dublin against the
backdrop of its overall location in Ireland may
add value for the visitor in terms of the addi-
tional travel possibilities that the respective
destinations would provide, particularly for
out-of-conference activities.
It therefore appears that while the ‘halo ef-
fect’ of a positive brand identity of a host coun-
try is important in attracting business tourists, it
is the brand identity of the city hosting meetings
that is paramount. In the case of Ireland, the af-
fect of the strategic focus for business tourism
bestowed by its various tourist organisations on
the capital city alone can not be minimised.
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SUBMITTED: June 15, 2006
FINAL REVISION SUBMITTED:
January 5, 2007
ACCEPTED: January 5, 2007
REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY