An Assessment of Convention Tourism’s Potential Contribution to Environmentally Sustainable Growth
The tourism literature contains substantial discussions on how increasing numbers of attendees and conventions at a destination contributes to the local economy, but there is limited research on the environmental impact of the concomitant increases in air and other travel, and other activity increases in energy and other resource use. This research assesses the current environmental position of the convention industry in the United
States and formulates suggestions for future direction in regard to “green” concepts by examining and comparing the perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of three groups of convention stakeholders: convention attendees, meeting planners, and convention suppliers. This empirical study recognizes the critical problem of inadequate understanding of the environmental impact of convention activities and the lack of knowledge regarding ecological convention practices. It shows that the perception of environmental impact among the three groups varies depending on which environmentally friendly practices are available to each group. It discusses the background to – and the implications of – the emotional formation of decisions and self-motivation based on positive attitudes and the strong intention to adopt green management practices agreed to by convention stakeholders.
Keywords: convention tourism; environmental impact; environmental attitude; behavioral intention; ecolabel; codes of conduct
Introduction
The convention industry creates a substantial flow of traffic, with a convention being defined by Zelinsky (1994, p. 69) as “a temporary assemblage of human beings”, typically for business conferences of various kinds. A large number of business travelers visiting a destination provide an economic boost for the destination because these travelers tend to stay at the destination longer and spend more money during the off season than do leisure travelers (Spiller, 2002). Although conventions are distinct from
States and formulates suggestions for future direction in regard to “green” concepts by examining and comparing the perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of three groups of convention stakeholders: convention attendees, meeting planners, and convention suppliers. This empirical study recognizes the critical problem of inadequate understanding of the environmental impact of convention activities and the lack of knowledge regarding ecological convention practices. It shows that the perception of environmental impact among the three groups varies depending on which environmentally friendly practices are available to each group. It discusses the background to – and the implications of – the emotional formation of decisions and self-motivation based on positive attitudes and the strong intention to adopt green management practices agreed to by convention stakeholders.
Keywords: convention tourism; environmental impact; environmental attitude; behavioral intention; ecolabel; codes of conduct
Introduction
The convention industry creates a substantial flow of traffic, with a convention being defined by Zelinsky (1994, p. 69) as “a temporary assemblage of human beings”, typically for business conferences of various kinds. A large number of business travelers visiting a destination provide an economic boost for the destination because these travelers tend to stay at the destination longer and spend more money during the off season than do leisure travelers (Spiller, 2002). Although conventions are distinct from
References: Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211. Armitage, C.J., & Christian, J. (2004). From attitudes to behavior: Basic and applied research on the theory of planned behavior Becken, S. (2002a). Analyzing international tourists flow to estimate energy use associated with air travel Becken, S. (2004). How tourists and tourism experts perceive climate change and carbon-offsetting schemes Becken, S. (2007). Tourists’ perception of international air travel’s impact on the global climate and potential climate change policies Becken, S., Simmons, D.G., & Frampton, C. (2003). Energy use associated with different travel choices Bestard, A.B., & Nadal, J.R. (2007). Modeling environmental attitudes toward tourism. Tourism