Evaluating competitiveness of the convention destination: a primary stakeholders' perspective in Chiang Mai City, Thailand

Chiang Mai, Thailand, has been growing in popularity and competitiveness as a destination for the convention industry. This study was conducted to evaluate primary/critical stakeholders' perceptions of the city from an industry perspective to discern how Chiang Mai might build on its recent progress as a convention destination. Quantitative data was collected in early 2016 via a questionnaire survey from 46 stakeholders, including convention venue providers, professional organisers, and hotels facilitating world-class convention facilities and services. The results showed that the stakeholders perceived tourist resources and attractors as well as the city's overall host environment to be highly competitive and strengthening the competitiveness of Chiang Mai as a convention destination. On the other hand, they perceived government-industry cooperation and human resources development as factors less beneficial in contributing to the competitiveness of the city. In addition, the t-test results demonstrated differences in perceptions of stakeholders in terms of human resources, convention infrastructure, and support infrastructure. As a result, Chiang Mai convention industry needs to focus on improving its government-industry cooperation as well as human resources development in order to reinforce its competitiveness and become a preferred convention destination in the region and the global market.