Assessing the Role of Conference Tourism in Building Addis Ababa’s Brand: From Stakeholders and International Conference Participants’ Perspective
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2015-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to assess the role of Conference Tourism in building Addis Ababa’s brand as a conference destination. The study is descriptive type of research in its nature and employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Interview, questionnaire and observation were the main data gathering tools. The interview was undertaken with experts and conference organizers. The key informants’ interview was taken with twelve conference organizers of conference organizing companies here in Addis Ababa. Through a convenience sampling technique, 396 questionnaires were distributed to International conference participants at Hotels, AU and UNECA and all questionnaires were collected successfully and analyzed. The collected data were analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings demonstrated that there were weak linkage and cooperation among those stakeholders involved in the conference industry in Addis Ababa. Moreover, this conference activity contributes to national and regional economies through investment, construction and generation of employment, and amounts to economic powerhouse. Lack of attention from the government, concerned stakeholders and unprofessional ways of organizing conferences were some among the challenges and problems which needs greater attention from those stake holders involved in conference tourism so as to enhance the growth of the sector. When large numbers of conference participants come to the destination, the secondary image of conference participants could positively be changed in terms of destination image, which in return, strongly builds Addis Ababa’s brand as a conference destination
Description
Keywords
Conference Tourism, Destination image, Destination brand