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Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1123–1127

www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

Research note

A refined model of factors affecting convention participation

decision-making
Hanqin Qiu Zhanga,, Vivien Leunga, Hailin Qub
a
School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
b
School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, 210 Human Environment Sciences West, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater,
Oklahoma 74078-6137, USA
Received 20 July 2006; accepted 27 July 2006

Abstract

In this study, a two-step refinement of conceptual models was performed: firstly, an existing model developed by Oppermann and
Chon [1997. Convention participation decision-making process. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(1), 178–191] was used as the foundation
framework; secondly, while referring to the model and other literature, a modified model was proposed as the conceptual framework for
future study. The new refined model of factors affecting convention participation decision-making comprises four main dimensions,
association/conference factors, personal/business factors, location factors, and total cost factors. Attributes under each dimension were
also carefully examined. This proposed model should provide research insights, make a contribution to the existing literature and guide
future research on the factors affecting convention participation decision-making.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Convention; Participation decisions; Model building and testing; Importance; Modified model

1. Introduction location by giving it a positive image. Furthermore,

Convention tourism—one of the fastest growing tourism
segments and a very important sector of the industry—is
forecast to become the largest sector during the early years
of the new millennium (Rogers, 1998). Overseas convention
attendees are valuable assets for the tourism industry.
Their attendance benefits both convention organizers and
host locations. They bring multi-economic benefits to the
host location through their expenditure on accommoda-
tion, food and beverages, local transportation and mis-
cellaneous spending (Oppermann & Chon, 1997). They
usually stay longer and spend more than other types of
tourists. Volkshandel (1984) argued that convention
attendees are normally opinion leaders who are in a very
good position to influence others about a country or region
and its offerings. With their favorable word-of-mouth
comments, they help in promoting tourism in the host
Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 2766 6368; fax: +852 2362 9362.
E-mail addresses: hmhanqin@inet.polyu.edu.hk (H.Q. Zhang),
qhailin@okstate.edu (H. Qu).
overseas convention attendees can provide a major source
of shoulder and off-season demand, since most corporate
and association meetings take place during the spring and
fall, the traditional soft periods in many tourist areas
(Oppermann, 1996; Volkshandel, 1984). As a result, it may
help the host location to fill hotels during slack seasons
(Var, Cesario, & Mauser, 1985).
Var et al. (1985) argued that while the overall interests
and objectives of convention planners and convention
agencies may diverge, there is at least one shared goal—
maximization of the number of delegates. It is embarras-
sing to both the planner and the agency when only a few
people attend a convention. The authors further added that
the maximization of the number of delegates should not be
the objective only of convention organizers, but rather the
common goal of both the convention organizers and host
locations. Therefore, the larger the number of overseas
convention delegates attending, the more the convention
organizers and the host locations gain.
In order to achieve the above goal, understanding the
behavior of overseas convention attendees as well as

0261-5177/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2006.07.008
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1124 H.Q. Zhang et al. / Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1123–1127
recognizing why and how individuals make their consump-
tion decisions is very important. This can assist the
association/event organizers and the host location’s tour-
ism marketers in predicting and explaining how consumers
are likely to react, permitting them to shape their market-
ing strategies accordingly, thus helping them to gain an
even greater competitive advantage in the marketplace
(Schiffman & Kanuk, 1997).
Previous research relating to the convention industry is
very sparse. Abbey and Link (1994) stated that convention
and meeting-related research is, for the most part, an
untapped market for researchers. More work was needed
to increase understanding of this important segment of the
tourism industry. As a result, this study aims to better
understand this segment, in particular from the perspective
of overseas convention attendees. The specific research
objectives were:
1. to propose a new model of important factors affecting
convention participation based on the existing literature,
in particular, Oppermann and Chon’s model on the
convention participation decision-making process;
2. to identify, from existing literature other than Opper-
man and Chon’s study, factors influencing the decisions
of convention attendees to attend an overseas conven-
tion;
3. to empirically examine the underlying dimensions of the
important factors which relate to convention attendees’
participation; and
4. to propose a newly refined model of the factors affecting
convention participation for future study.
2. Literature review
When deciding whether to attend an overseas convention
or not, a potential convention delegate usually faces two
main considerations. Firstly, they must decide ‘‘whether to
attend or not?’’ According to Hiller (1995), attending an
association convention is a voluntary behavior, which
means that potential attendees have the choice to attend or
not to attend an overseas convention. Attendance depends
on the level of interest in the purpose of the meeting and
the priority that potential delegates give to the event.
Secondly, they might be required to decide ‘‘which
convention to attend?’’ Oppermann and Chon (1997)
stated that association members commonly hold multiple
memberships and that they do not attend all association
conventions. Hence, potential participants have a wide
range of association conventions and other conferences to
choose from, and do not and cannot attend them all.
Oppermann (1996) has commented that industry re-
search into the convention sector has concentrated almost
exclusively on the meeting planners and the importance to
them of various decision attributes in deciding on a specific
destination or hotel. An extensive literature review of
convention and meeting tourism revealed that the majority
of studies were convention and meeting planner related
(Bonn & Boyd, 1992; Bonn, Brand, & Ohlin, 1994;
Oppermann, 1996; Go & Zhang, 1997) while only two
convention attendee-related studies were found (Var et al.,
1985; Oppermann & Chon, 1997).
Var et al. (1985) introduced an approach for identifying
the determinants of convention attendance in alternative
cities. They proposed that the ‘expected’ number of
delegates was a function of accessibility and attractiveness
of the destination under individual cost constraints,
assuming that other factors were constant. Their approach
permits planners to evaluate the relative importance of
accessibility and attractiveness as determinants of conven-
tion attendance for each site. However, in the current
study, in addition to cost, site accessibility and attractive-
ness, the relative importance of other variables like
conference factors and personal factors were also evalu-
ated.
The model in Oppermann and Chon’s study (1997)
addresses the convention participation decision-making
process of potential attendees (Fig. 1). However, many
factors are missing in this model. For example, a major
consideration for delegates when deciding whether to
attend a conference or convention is the cost, which
includes the monetary cost and the time cost. Although
some of these factors have been addressed in various
previous studies, a comprehensive analysis of all the factors
and their relative influence on convention participation is
still lacking.
This study differs from that of Oppermann and Chon’s
in that, firstly, it includes a comprehensive analysis of all
the factors that were identified from a review of the existing
literature and their relative influence on convention
attendance; and secondly, it proposes a new convention
participation decision-making model that combined the
opinions of other scholars. At the end of the study, the
refined model was established to guide future research.
2.1. A refined model
Based on Opperman and Chon’s work, a modified model
was established. The new model contains two major
modifications not found in the original Opperman and
Chon model. Firstly, the original ‘‘location factors’’ were
split into two subcategories—‘‘attractiveness’’ and ‘‘acces-
sibility’’ of convention destination. Var et al. (1985) argued
that, in most cases, when deciding whether to attend a
convention at a particular site, the determinant factors for
a convention attendee who was a member of an organiza-
tion was the accessibility and attractiveness of the
destination. In their study they also found that the
accessibility of the destination site was more important
than its ‘‘attractiveness’’. For the sake of clarity, Opper-
man and Chon’s location factors were subdivided into
attractiveness and accessibility of the convention destina-
tion. Additional attributes that were missing in Opperman
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H.Q. Zhang et al. / Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1123–1127 1125

Pre-
disposed
INDIVIDUAL

Personal / Business
Association/ Factors
Conference Factors Health
Involvement w. assoc. Finance
Peer recognition NO Time availability
Professional contacts Family
Personal interactions Funding
“Global community” Professional advancement
Desire to learn
NO

Location Factors

Destination image Intervening

Transportation cost Opportunities
Accessibility Other conferences
NO
Accommodation cost Vacations, other items
Climate
Pre-/post activities
NO
Previous experience

YES

Modification PARTICIPATION Modification

Experience/Evaluation
Source: Oppermann & Chon (1997)

Fig. 1. Oppermann and Chon’s model of the conference participation decision-making process. Source: Oppermann and Chon (1997).

and Chon’s model were then added to both the attractive-
ness and accessibility factors of the convention destination
(see Fig. 2).
Rutherford and Kreck (1994) suggested that tourism
activities might play an important part in influencing
convention attendance behavior. Some scholars have even
argued that spousal participation could further dictate the
importance of the role played by the amenities and other-
than-meeting attributes of the site in attendance (Wiswell,
1986; Rogers, 1998). As a result, some destination
attributes considered by tourists, such as safety/security
(Oppermann, 1996; Bonn & Boyd, 1992; Bonn et al., 1994),
common language (Sirakaya, McLellan, & Uysal, 1996),
friendliness of locals (Go & Zhang, 1997; Bonn et al., 1994;
Bonn & Boyd, 1992), scenery/sightseeing opportunities
(Oppermann, 1996; Go & Zhang, 1997; Bonn et al., 1994;
Bonn & Boyd, 1992), availability of nightlife (Oppermann,
1996; Bonn & Boyd, 1992; Sirakaya et al., 1996), food and
restaurant facilities (Oppermann, 1996; Sirakaya et al.,
1996) and accommodation and hotel facilities (Sirakaya
et al., 1996) were added. Three attributes relating to the
accessibility of the convention destination were also added,
namely the distance of the trip (Bonn et al., 1994; Bonn &
Boyd, 1992), availability of direct flights (Bonn et al., 1994;
Bonn & Boyd, 1992) and ease of visa application (Lang,
O’Leary, & Morrison, 1997).
Secondly, the original ‘‘intervening opportunities’’ in
Oppermann and Chon’s model were replaced by ‘‘total cost
factor’’. According to Var et al. (1985), a person deciding
upon attendance is constrained by the resources available.
The ‘‘cost’’ mentioned by Var and his colleagues is quite
similar to Opperman and Chon’s ‘‘intervening opportu-
nities’’. Both sets of authors mentioned that due to limited
time and money, attendance at a convention might result in
the foregoing of other alternative opportunities. However,
the cost concept presented by Var et al. further stated that
living expenses (hotels, meals, etc.) and air/ground
transportation costs should be included in the costs of
attending a meeting and that the ‘‘value of the time’’
involved in making the trip was also an important cost.
Individuals are required to make a trade off with their time
between attending an overseas convention and being away
from home, office, family and friends. As a result,
attributes like ‘‘conference registration cost’’, ‘‘exchange
rate’’ (Bonn et al., 1994; Bonn & Boyd, 1992; Sirakaya
et al., 1996), ‘‘trade off on time at the office’’, ‘‘trade off on
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1126 H.Q. Zhang et al. / Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1123–1127

Pre-
disposed
INDIVIDUAL

YES Personal/Business
Factors
Association/Conference
Factors Health
Involvement w. assoc. YES Finance
Time availability
Peer recognition NO Family
Professional contacts
Funding
Personal interaction
Professional advancement
Global Community
Desire to learn
NO

Location Factors
Attractiveness of Convention
Destination YES Total Cost Factors
Destination image Monetary Cost
Climate Transportation costs
Previous experience Accommodation costs
Safety/security YES Conference
Common language NO registration cost
Friendliness of locals Exchange rate
Scenery/sightseeing Time Cost
opportunities
NO Trade off on
Food & restaurant alternative
facilities
conferences
Accommodation &
hotel facilities Trade off on
Availability of night vacations
life Trade off on time
Accessibility of Convention at the office
Destination Trade off on time
Distance of trip with family
Direct flight Trade off on time
Ease of visa application with friends
YES
Modification Modification
PARTICIPATION
Experience/Evaluation
**Remarks**
Attributes abstracted from the original Oppermann & Chon Model
Attributes abstracted from other studies

Fig. 2. Modified model of the conference participation decision-making process.

time with family’’ and ‘‘trade off on time with friends’’
were added to the model. Furthermore, as opportunity
costs in using money and time are different, it is logical to
further subdivide the total cost factors into ‘‘total time
cost’’ and ‘‘total monetary cost’’ of the trip.
In summary, the modified model (Fig. 2) was suggested
and regrouped under four factor dimensions:
1. Association/conference factors (unchanged);
2. Location factors (with two subcategorized factors:
attractiveness and accessibility of the convention desti-
nation);
3. Total cost factors (with two subcategorized factors: total
time cost and total monetary cost of the trip); and
4. Personal/business factors (unchanged).
3. Implications and conclusion
For industry practitioners, this study has some practical
implications. For a conference, the core product should be
the conference program itself, which can satisfy the
attendees’ needs by offering them an opportunity to keep
up with any changes in their professional field, to hear
speakers who are respected experts in their field and to
learn new skills. The location factors may offer either an
actual or augmented product, which could result in a
higher quality conference or create unexpected surprises for
the customer. When conference organizers design a
convention product, they should concentrate their efforts
on conference-related factors, such as career development,
knowledge, and opportunities for interaction.
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H.Q. Zhang et al. / Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1123–1127
In order to develop a successful conference product,
some professionals have suggested that the right theme and
conference objectives, which are in line with the target
market, are very important. These can be used to persuade
speakers and delegates to attend the conference (Maitland,
1996). Others have mentioned that the selection of the
speakers to be invited to the conference is also essential.
The speakers’ fame and reputation were a chief attraction
for a conference. Potential conference attendees will be
more likely to attend, being aware that some of these
speakers are experts in their fields and can present their
ideas well. However, potential attendees will not attend if
they see on the list persons who are not good presenters or
who do not have any interesting ideas (Chang, 1995).
Additionally, social activities may enrich conference
program content and ‘‘peer interaction’’. They offer an
opportunity for peer and professional interaction as well as
global networking. They can also provide a diversion from
the conference program as too many speeches, facts,
figures, etc. will tire delegates and cause them to become
uninterested and disenchanted (Maitland, 1996).
In this study, the conceptual model was refined in the
following three steps: firstly, an existing model suggested
by Oppermann and Chon (1997) was used as the
fundamental framework; secondly, a newly refined model
was produced to guide further research in this field. It is
believed that this study will make some theoretical
contributions to the further study of convention participa-
tion. In future, a study on the importance of each of the
dimensions in explaining the future intention of attending a
conference could be conducted using the newly refined
model developed in this study.
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