Business events at a spa destination: an insight into senior participant motivation

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the motivation of the attendees of the Annual Meeting of the Serbian Association of Seniors. The research aims to segment the senior participants according to their push and pull motivations for attending association meetings, by using cluster analysis to understand the role of destination personality in the segmentation process. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire, based on a seven-point Likert scale, was distributed among representatives and members of the Association of Pensioners of Serbia. The data collected were assessed with the use of SPSS 21 statistical software. Findings The results of the study reveal the most important push and pull motives that drive senior citizens to take part in this type of event. It has also provided a better understanding of senior business event participants in relation to destination personality. Research limitations/implications The data were collected from 124 questionnaires. In order to provide a more detailed insight into the senior citizens’ motivation to participate in events, a larger sample would be required. Practical implications The research findings provide valuable information about senior business event visitor behaviour, which is of high importance for destination marketers and managers. Originality/value Nowadays, business events motivation research is generally focussed on middle-aged and young attendees, so insight into the perception of senior citizens related to business event motivation provides a further understanding of this specific consumer segment. Additionally, gaining insight into seniors’ perspectives related to participation in association meetings after retiring from work assists in comprehending the complex nature of their motivation to participate in these types of business events, as well as underlining the fact that senior business event attendees have been, up until this point, largely neglected as a group in terms of similar research.

Factors influencing MICE destination revisit intentions: A literature review

“…Mair, Lockstone-Binney and Whitelaw (2018) revealed that networking opportunities are one of the motivational factors influencing tourists' decisions to attend or re-attend MICE events. Dimitrovski, Seočanac and Luković (2021) also found the networking factor to be important in the business event context. Moreover, Cassar Whitfield and Chapman (2020) affirmed that networking opportunities are an essential factor in the MICE context.…”

“…Push factors are the intangible or psychological factors intrinsic to event participants that drive them to decide to attend a MICE event. Related studies have indicated the importance of networking and educational opportunities as push motivational factors (Cassar, Whitfield, Chapman, 2020;Dimitrovski, Seočanac, Luković, 2021;Gračan, Barkiđija Sotošek, Torbarina, 2021;Kim, Kim, Oh, 2020;Kim, Lee, Kim, 2012;Lee, Koo, Chung, 2019;Mair, Thompson, 2009;Pavluković, Cimbaljević, 2020;Severt et al, 2007;Yodsuwan, Pathan, Butcher, 2020;Yoo, Chon, 2008;Yoo, Zhao, 2010). The following sections explain these factors in detail.…”

“…A resort's pull factors such as sunshine, a laid-back atmosphere, and friendly locals respond to and strengthen push factor motivation, as stated by Dann (1981). Furthermore, there has been an increasing number of works on 'push' and 'pull' factors in recent decades (Baniya, Ghimire, Phuyal, 2017;Dimitrovski, Seočanac, Luković, 2021;Kim, Lee, 2002;Luvsandavaajav, Narantuya, 2021;Uysal, Jurowski, 1994). Dann (1977) and Crompton (1979b) are the two most comprehensive studies that use push and pull factor hypotheses.…”

“…słońce, swobodna atmosfera i przyjaźni mieszkańcy, powodują reakcję i wzmacniają motywację typu push. W ostatnich dziesięcioleciach pojawia się coraz więcej prac na temat czynników push i pull (Baniya, Ghimire, Phuyal, 2017;Dimitrovski, Seočanac, Luković, 2021;Kim, Lee, 2002;Luvsandavaajav, Narantuya, 2021;Uysal, Jurowski, 1994). Analizy Danna (1977) i Cromptona (1979b to dwa najobszerniejsze badania, w których zastosowano hipotezy dotyczące czynników push i pull.…”

Cultural intelligence and heritage impact on choosing foreign tourist destination

“…Tourists have a desire to visit a foreign country that has a significant cultural heritage, and, on the other hand, cultural tourism enables the realization of profits and encourages economic development (Filipoviš, 2018). Dimitrovski et al (2019) state that there are two groups of motivational factors of travel. Push-factors include recreational holidays, learning foreign languages, making social contacts with people from other cultures, exploring other countries and improving the level of cultural intelligence.…”