Chapter 3 Managing Stakeholders to Destination Marketing

Abstract

Stakeholders are a crucial and indispensable element of convention bureaus’ operations. They are persons (or groups of persons) with direct or indirect interest in the effects of the bureaus’ operations. A stakeholder with direct interest may be a convention bureau founder, its members (if the bureau has a membership structure), enterprises which draw direct benefits from convention bureaus operations (hotels, restaurants, attractions), employees of the meetings industry, clients and even competitors. The interests of these persons and organisations in the operations of a particular convention bureau and in the effects of the operations are of a very strong and specific nature. Stakeholders with an indirect interest are organisations associated in the sector of stakeholders directly influencing the formation of the role and character of convention bureaus. The connection may be very strong, as is the case with service suppliers for the meetings industry, or quite weak, which may be illustrated with the example of the association bringing together owners of houses where the meetings industry employees are accommodated, that is an organisation which is not directly related to a given structure.