Motivation and experience in symbiotic events: an illustrative example grounded in culture and business events

Abstract

This article explores the relation between motivation and experience in attendees at different types of events. There has been relatively little research into the experience dimensions of event attendees, or to what extent different motivations affect the experience, even in the events literature, motivation has been a central topic. Both academia and industry recognise event attendees' motivations as an important factor that helps us to understand developments in a broader framework. However, further research in this area is needed to understand how motivations and experience are related and how this relationship develops in different types of events. We used the Event Experience Scale in a survey conducted at two different events. This paper concludes with some critical observations identifying similarities and differences in motivations and experience at two different types of events, suggesting new pathways for further research.

The perceptions of host-city residents of the impact of mega-events and their support: the EXPO 2020 in Dubai

“…While this sample size does not indicate representativeness of the population of Dubai, it does offer useful insights into the perceptions of some members of Dubai's population with regard to EXPO 2020 which, when taken in conjunction with existing literature also conducted in the Middle East (see Olya & Gavilyan, 2016;Olya et al, 2019) does support evident patterns in terms of resident support. Furthermore, previous studies have offered insightful results comparing the experience and motivation at two events (Colombo & Marques, 2020) and in terms of support for tourism (Olya & Gavilyan, 2016) based on similar sample size and sampling approach. Initial screening tests conducted on the data did not indicate any significant differences between the different data collection methods.…”

Collaborative research to enhance a business tourism destination: a case study from Porto

“…Although there's a lack of literature on business tourism, recent years have been fruitful in the emergence of studies embracing interconnected perspectives and diff erent areas of knowledge: geography and comparative studies (Abulibdeh & Zaidan, 2017;Ho & McKercher, 2014;Iacuone & Zarrilli, 2018;Rogerson, 2015aRogerson, , 2015b; economic analysis (Falk & Hagsten, 2018;Jones & Li, 2015;Tsui et al, 2018); sustainability (Mair & Jago, 2010;Rittichainuwat & Mair, 2012;Werner et al, 2017); attendees behaviours and motivations (Colombo & Marques, 2019;Crouch & Louviere, 2004;Lichy & McLeay, 2018;Millán et al, 2016); destination planning and management policies (Alananzeh et al, 2019;Almeida-García, 2018;Carvalho et al, 2018;Huang, 2016;Kitchen, 2017;Lee et al, 2016); transport and accessibility (Borodako & Rudnicki, 2014); destination brand and marketing (Ahn, Hyun et al, 2016;Kim & Jun, 2016;Skinner, 2017).…”

“…The growing attention that business tourism has received lately fosters the need to better understand how the tourism destinations have been working on this segment. Due to the increasing number of business events being held globally and the growing number of candidate cities to host the events, destination managers have to find new ways to increase competitiveness, especially through innovation and creation of complementary activities that enhance the overall business tourism experience (Colombo & Marques, 2019). There seems to be a consensus regarding the importance of the overall tourism experience when it comes to business tourism and business events (Abulibdeh & Zaidan, 2017;Ahn, Hyun et al, 2016;Alananzeh et al, 2019;Falk & Hagsten, 2018;Skinner, 2017).…”

“…In this context, Lichy and McLeay (2018) explored the new trend 'bleisure tourism' which means integrating leisure activities during a business trip. For Colombo and Marques (2019), the relationship between business and leisure can be even more specific through the combination of diff erent characteristics and activities in the same event, resulting in hybrid or symbiotic events (e.g. a trade fair that encompasses a music concert).…”

“…Therefore, the possibility of returning in leisure context or even the word-of-mouth promotion reflects the potential of business events for local and/or regional development (Tan & Tsui, 2017;Tsui et al, 2018). Holding business events, especially large ones, plays a crucial role in the international projection of the country and contributes to enhancing the territory as a reference destination (Colombo & Marques, 2019;Draper et al, 2018;Huang, 2016;Skinner, 2017). According to Getz and Page (2016), events, in general, are important for the promotion of a positive destination image, place marketing and co-branding with destination.…”