Post-pandemic intention to participate in the tourism and hospitality (T&H) events: an integrated investigation through the lens of the theory of planned behavior and perception of Covid-19

PurposeThis paper aims to predict the post-pandemic intention of Indian consumers to participate in tourism and hospitality T&H events by incorporating the perception of Covid-19 (PCOV) into the theory of planned behavior (TPB). It also examines the relationship among attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention and PCOV.Design/methodology/approachThis research employed a quantitative research technique, with data collected using an online questionnaire-based survey from August 23 to October 29, 2021. The sampling approach is convenient, and the sample of this study is comprised of individuals who follow events pages on social networking sites.FindingsThe findings of SEM revealed that the proposed model has better explanatory and predictive power. The path analysis showed that all the variables of the TPB are significantly and positively associated with the post-pandemic intention to participate in the T&H events. However, the PCOV is negatively associated with the post-pandemic intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study give an idea about the post-pandemic intention of Indian consumers to participate in T&H events. The results of this study revealed important practical implications for event management organizations, travel agencies that deal in events, the T&H industry, tourism planners and other stakeholders, as these findings may be used to develop effective marketing strategies.Originality/valueThere has been a lot of research on TPB in the context of coronavirus, but to the best of the authors' knowledge, there is a gap in the literature regarding the intention to participate in T&H events. Hence, this research fills that gap.

USING ACTION RESEARCH TO DETERMINE THE SYSTEMATIC APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE METHODS AND STANDARDS IN MANAGING RISK IN EVENT MANAGEMENT

Alle besigheid behels die aanvaarding en bestuur van risiko, veral waar besighede betrokke is by die aanbieding en bestuur van gebeure wat inherent riskant is. Gebeurtenisbestuur is dus intrinsiek gemoeid met die bestuur van verskeie vorme van risiko. Hierdie studie het ten doel om die faktore te identifiseer wat die beste praktyke in die bestuur van risiko tydens gebeurtenisbestuur beinvloed en om te bepaal tot watter mate die faktore bydra tot die effektiewe bestuur van risiko in gebeurtenisbestuur. Meer as ooit tevore verwag 'n verskeidenheid belanghebbendes dat organiseerders van geleenthede aktief betrokke sal raak by die bestuur van risikos en dit sal doen in die mate van wat redelikerwys as uitvoerbaar beskou kan word. 'n Kwalitatiewe benadering is vir hierdie studie onderneem wat bestaan uit tien aanlyn (virtuele) semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met geselekteerde ervare professionele persone om hul perspektiewe oor die bestuur van risiko in gebeurtenisbestuur vas te stel en waarom beste praktykstandaarde dikwels nie gebruik word nie. Die studie het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat risikobestuur 'n integrale deel van die gebeurtenisbestuursproses moet wees wat alle fases van gebeurtenisse insluit.Alternate :All business involves assuming and managing risk, and this is particularly true of businesses involved in the staging and management of events, which are inherently risky endeavours. Event management is thus intrinsically concerned with managing various forms of risk. This study aims to identify the factors that influence best practices in managing risk during event management, and to determine the extent to which the factors contribute towards effectively managing risk in event management. More than ever before, a variety of stakeholders are expecting that event organisers will actively engage in managing risks and will do so to the extent of what can be considered reasonably practicable. A qualitative approach was undertaken for this study, consisting of ten online (virtual) semi-structured interviews with selected experienced professionals to ascertain their perspectives on managing risk in events management, and why best practice standards are often not employed. The study concluded that risk management must be an integral part of the event management process, encompassing all phases of events.

RETHINKING THE PARTICIPATORY DESIGN CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE

Clarke discusses the need to rethink the participatory design conference experience. He states that he read an article recently that suggested with the growth of online and hybrid conferences in response to Covid-19, there were more opportunities for everyone. The focus of the article was on celebrating the enabling potential of technology to make this happen. But after spending the past two years attending online conferences and now serving as general co-chair for the 2022 Participatory Design Conference (PDC), she thinks it's a mistake to focus on what technology can or cannot bring to the table in trying to make conferences more equitable.

The best practice of marketing strategies for the Malaysian business event industry from experts' perspective

Purpose>This paper aims to explore the best practices in marketing strategies for the Malaysian business event industry.Design/methodology/approach>A qualitative methodology was adopted to collect primary data from semi-structured interviews. The informants included ten experts from the Malaysian business event industry. The data collected were then grouped using the ATLAS.ti (v.8) software for thematic analysis. A trustworthiness assessment was applied to increase the credibility and ensure the rigour of the qualitative findings.Findings>The qualitative results revealed the following final themes: event marketing, the marketing plan, the 7 Ps of the marketing mix, strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and traditional and digital marketing. Interestingly, three inductive themes were also emerged as follows: relationship marketing, unique selling points (USPs) and key opinion leaders.Research limitations/implications>This study looked at Malaysian business events and focused only on findings from the industry expert's perspective. In the future, further investigation may concentrate on other business event industry players such as destination marketing companies, airline operators, travel intermediaries, clients, suppliers, universities and the government.Practical implications>The findings offer a holistic approach to increase Malaysia's competitiveness among other primary business event host destinations in the Asian-Pacific, improve its worldwide and Asian-Pacific rankings and better position the country as a preferred business event destination during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Originality/value>This is the first such study to date, which has never been explored in qualitative academic research. This study has substantial implications for various business event industry stakeholders in Malaysia.