Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

METHODOLOGY 
Since the purpose of this study was to compare CVBs’ and meeting planners’ channel preferences and 
usage, the data used for this study were obtained from two different sources. In case of CVBs, the sample of CVBs 
was drawn from the membership list of DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International). Only CVB 
marketers in charge of promoting their destinations and conventions (i.e., destination marketers, destination 
promoters, directors of sales, etc.) were selected because of the study focus on the communication channel between 
CVBs and meeting planners. The meeting planner population was drawn from the membership list of Professional 
Convention Management Association (PCMA). From this membership list, only meeting planners responsible for 
promoting destinations and communicating with travelers and CVBs were selected. Before obtaining the valid 
sample list based on the sampling criteria, a cross-checking between the two lists was performed to insure mutual 
exclusiveness in the two groups. Moreover, only one meeting planner per organization was chosen in order to avoid 
multiple responses from an organization. Applying these sample screening criteria, a total of 1,124 potential meeting 
planner respondents was obtained. 
The survey was conducted from May 15
th
to June 10
th
, 2006 through the e-survey servers (at 
http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/ss/wsb.dll). In order to increase the response rate, a personalized e-mail showing each 
individual’s first and last name was sent and there were four financial prizes ($50 dollar gift cards) as incentives. A 
follow-up personalized reminder e-mail was sent two times on May 24
th
and June 1
st
respectively to maximize the 
return rates. These efforts resulted in 245 of CVB and 226 meeting planner completed responses for 24.01% and 
20.1 % response rates respectively. Preliminary analyses using chi-square tests were conducted separately for the 
both groups to investigate the extent and nature of response bias. In particular, the early respondents (CVBs = 175; 
meeting planners = 142) were compared to the follow-up respondents (CVBs = 70; meeting planners = 84) in terms 
of the demographic, professional, and geographic information. The results of these analyses showed that only the 
type of meeting planners was significantly different (at p = 0.05).
RESULTS 
The demographic profiles of the respondents are summarized in Table 1. In case of CVB marketers, there 
were slightly more females (57 %) than males, while about 60 percent of the respondents were in the age range of 31 
to 50 years
. 
One notable characteristic of the respondents was that a majority (84 %) of the CVB respondents were 
highly educated (Bachelor’s degree or higher). In regard to the profile of meeting planners, the most interesting 
characteristic of the meeting planners was the majority of meeting planners were female (81.7 %).
According to 
Jackson (2003), 20 years ago the convention and meetings sector mostly consisted of men, but as the industry grew 
out of administrative departments, women in clerical positions were planning meetings and now 89.9 percent of 
meeting managers and 85.8 percent of meeting directors are women. Another recent market report (Meetings Focus, 
2005) also showed that the convention and meetings sector was overwhelmingly comprised of women, as the survey 
found.
The two major age groupings of respondents were 31 to 40 (32.1%) and 41-50 (31.2%). It was also observed 
that over 80 percent of meeting planners has at least a Bachelor’s degree. 

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