Business Event Destination Determinants: Malaysia Event Organizers' Perspective

Abstract

The choice of destination for a business event is influenced by a range of attributes, including the event type, location, or number of attendees. This article investigates the influence of event characteristics on destination selection attributes in Malaysia. Data collected from 261 event organizers using a simple random probability method were analyzed to test for significant differences between destination attributes and event characteristics. The findings revealed that the event size and venue have a significant and direct impact on some destination attributes; however, contrary to previous studies, event type was insignificant and had no direct impact on destination attributes. The results contribute knowledge on approaches to improve the marketing of destinations to business event organizers in Malaysia. Furthermore, the results imply that marketers, who want to optimize strategies to better meet the needs of the Malaysia business event industry, should align destination attributes with the dimensions of event characteristics.