A Review of Convention and Meeting Management Research 1990–2003

The growing importance of the convention and meeting sector provided the impetus for this review of research directions and the structure of the convention and meeting field. A total of 137 convention articles published in major hospitality and tourism journals from 1990 to 2003 were collected and content-analyzed for research method and subject. Specifically, articles were categorized based on (a) nature of article, (b) research design, (c) statistical technique, (d) research focus, and (e) functional area. Findings suggest that while descriptive research dominated, more sophisticated quantitative research techniques, such as multi-variate analysis, were extensively used, particularly after 2000. Thematic review of articles reveals that associations' site selection processes, destination marketing, and the economic impact of convention activities have drawn enormous attention from researchers over the 14-year period. Discussion issues and suggestions for future research in the field of convention and meeting management are proposed.