International Congress and Convention Association Education and career background of Visitor and Convention Bureau Managers presented by Anne Wallin Rødven Oslo 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 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 to all ICCA Category D members.

THE RESPONSES 114 responses 114 responses 28 CVBs representing countries 28 CVBs representing countries 21 CVBs representing regions 21 CVBs representing regions 71 CVBs representing cities 71 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%) years:18(15.7%) Over 15 years:38(33.3%)

In which country is your CVB located ? AUSTRALIA 5 AUSTRIA 7 BAHRAIN 1 BELGIUM 5 BRAZIL 2 CANADA 2 CROATIA 1 DENMARK 1 ETHIOPIA 1 FINLAND 5 FRANCE 5 GERMANY 5 GREECE 1 HUNGARY 2 IRELAND 1 ISRAEL 1 ITALY 4 JAPAN 3 MALAYSIA 1 MEXICO 3 NETHERLANDS 6 NEW ZEALAND 1 NORWAY 2 POLAND 3 PORTUGAL 2 SINGAPORE 1 SLOVENIA 1 S. AFRICA 2 S. KOREA 2 SPAIN 8 SRI LANKA 1 SWEDEN 2 SWITZERLAND 7 THAILAND 1 TURKEY 1 U.A.E. 1 U.K. 14 U.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 university ICCA EFCT MPI IAPCO Only 4 respondents with specific conference industry qualifications Only 4 respondents with specific conference industry qualifications

Previous work experience ? Marketing other products / services, apart from destinations:49 responses Marketing what ? Hotels 11 PCO/events management services9 Conference venues7 Transport5 Food/beverages5 Other consumer products4

Previous work experience ? Hotels(not marketing)34 Travel trade26 Teaching15 National government13 Local government10 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.

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