International Congress and Convention Association

Education and career background of Visitor and

Convention Bureau Managers

presented by

Anne Wallin RødvenOslo Visitors and Convention Bureau

iccaworld.com

Rhodes, 2006

Research undertaken by Rob Davidson, University of Westminster, and Krzysztof Celuch, Warsaw University of Economics and Computer Science, summer 2006.

WHO ARE WE, AND WHERE DO WE COME FROM?

An analysis of the careers and education paths followed by current managers of Visitor and Convention Bureaux (VCBs)

Methodology: A questionnaire sent by e-mail to all ICCA Category D members.

THE RESPONSES

114 responses114 responses 28 CVBs representing countries28 CVBs representing countries 21 CVBs representing regions21 CVBs representing regions 71 CVBs representing cities71 CVBs representing cities (6 multiple replies: city/regions)(6 multiple replies: city/regions)

How long has your CVB existed?

• 0-5 years: 35 (31%)• 6-10 years: 22 (19.3%)• 11-15 years: 18 (15.7%)• Over 15 years: 38 (33.3%)

In which country is your CVB located ?

AUSTRALIA 5AUSTRIA 7BAHRAIN 1BELGIUM 5BRAZIL 2CANADA 2CROATIA 1DENMARK 1ETHIOPIA 1

FINLAND 5FRANCE 5GERMANY 5GREECE 1HUNGARY 2IRELAND 1ISRAEL 1ITALY 4JAPAN 3

MALAYSIA 1MEXICO 3NETHERLANDS 6NEW ZEALAND 1NORWAY 2POLAND 3PORTUGAL 2SINGAPORE 1SLOVENIA 1

S. AFRICA 2S. KOREA 2SPAIN 8SRI LANKA 1SWEDEN 2SWITZERLAND 7THAILAND 1TURKEY 1U.A.E. 1U.K. 14U.S.A. 1

Your highest educational qualification?

• School certificate: 20 (17.5%)• University bachelor degree: 50

(43.8%)• University masters degree: 43

(37.7%)• Doctorate degree: 1 (0.01%)

Main subject studied at university?

• ECONOMICS: 18• TOURISM: 16• HOTEL MANAGEMENT:13• BUSINESS: 13• LANGUAGES: 12• MARKETING: 11• COMMUNICATION: 8• POLITICAL SCIENCE: 6

Main subject studied at university?

• Only TWO respondents had taken subjects directly related to Business Tourism (the same number as those who had taken subjects in Interior Design!)

• 39 respondents had studied in more than one country, while at university (36.8%)

Specific courses in Destination Marketing ?

• Taken by 60 respondents (53.1%)

At universityICCAEFCTMPIIAPCO

1613733

Only 4 respondents with specific conference Only 4 respondents with specific conference industry qualifications industry qualifications

Previous work experience ?

• Marketing other products / services, apart from destinations: 49 responses

• Marketing what ?

Hotels 11PCO/events management services 9Conference venues 7Transport 5Food/beverages 5Other consumer products 4

Previous work experience ?

• Hotels (not marketing) 34• Travel trade 26• Teaching 15• National government 13• Local government 10• PCO/DMC 7• Venue management 3• (also: architecture, interior design, banking,

librarianship, mining)

Since leaving full-time education, in how many countries have you

worked?• Exactly one third of respondents (38/114) had worked in more than one country

• 2 countries: 20 respondents• 3 countries: 10 respondents• 4 countries: 4 respondents• 5 countries: 4 respondents

HOW PROBABLE IS IT THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE CAREER AND MOVE TO A

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROFESSION ?

• Very probable: 8 responses• Probable: 40 responses• Improbable: 56 responses• I would never consider working in a

different profession: 8 responses

WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST LIKELY REASON FOR YOU MOVING TO A COMPLETELY

DIFFERENT PROFESSION ?

• Lack of opportunity for promotion:24 responses

• Salary too low: 18 responses• Too much stress: 8 responses• Too much time away from home:

2 responses

CONCLUSIONS

• CVB managers come from a wide variety of careers and educational backgrounds, but business and communications skills are common to all.

• They are highly-mobile in 2 ways• - geographically: many have experience of

studying and working in more than one country

• - occupationally: many move between sectors of the conference industry – event planning, venue management, destination marketing…

CONCLUSIONS

• For the greater retention of CVB staff, more needs to be done to create a structured career path for young managers

• Universities should do more to inform students of the particular characteristics of the conference industry

• Many people simply ‘drift’ into destination marketing jobs, unaware of this sector as an activity. Universities should do more to inform students of this career and the special skills and qualities it requires.

International Congress and Convention Association

iccaworld.com

Thank you!