Spain has topped a unique international survey undertaken by Rob Davidson, Senior Lecturer in Business Travel and Tourism at The University of Westminster in London.

The Survey was undertaken among Convention Bureaux and Conference Planners around the world.

Spain topped the polls as the most preferred destination when respondents were asked in which 3 foreign countries they had booked the majority of their conference/incentive business during the past 12 months. Spain was first, second and third choice.

The same survey also showed that emerging countries such as China, Vietnam and Croatia, were considered “new” destinations and had been booked for the “first time” by respondents during the past year. Only 10% of the sample reported that they had not considered a new destination, demonstrating the continuing appetite for innovation in this market.

Prior to making decisions about selecting new destinations the respondents clearly identified that “novelty value” played a part in the process, as well as “value for money”. A fam trip helped them to assess the viability of a new location as did a personal recommendation.

“ROI is emerging as the continual theme to the choice of destination, although there are many influencing factors that help the decision process such as information on new facilities, hotel openings and a new business link with the destination. If a destination or product doesn’t get its brand out there, it really won’t be able to compete on the same scale as those that do invest heavily in promoting themselves to the buyers and planners” says Rob Davidson.

Over 20 major City Convention Bureaux were sampled and asked how much knowledge they believed they had concerning the major conferences and incentives that were staged in their city.

Nearly 70% of those interviewed believed they had accurate knowledge of the average length of the major events held in their city. A further question polled 57% of respondents who said they had little or NO knowledge of the number of delegates who spend extra time in their city for leisure either before or after a trip!

Nearly 22% had no idea of the economic impact of the major conferences/incentives held in their city.

“Comparatively low levels of awareness of the economic impacts of conferences and incentive events held at a destination is disturbing, especially when CVB’s are under growing pressure to demonstrate their effectiveness in generating local economic benefits” continued Davidson.