Download AIPC Media Releases December 23, 2002

Introduction
Europoll Market Survey - AIPC Version
Europoll is a market research instrument developed from a parallel study entitled
“Metropoll” which has run in North America for many years. The intention of both
these surveys is to analyze attitudes, preferences and information sources
regarding particular destinations in the minds of both association and corporate
meeting planners.
The volume of Europoll in which AIPC has participated is based on a pooling of
data collected with respect to 24 different European destinations to create an
overall impression of the European product. Individual studies are available for
each destination which allow them to compare themselves with their
competitors; however, the pooled data is also useful because it enables the
reader to identify overall patterns of behaviour and opinion common to all
destinations.
Europoll addresses the following areas:
 It defines the characteristics of the largest European meeting held by
respondents in the Past 12 Months in the following terms;
o Location of meetings (by country, region and city)
o Category of these meetings
o Attendance and attendee characteristics
o Facility, computer and trade exhibit requirements
o Planning and travel patterns
 It identifies the importance of 26 considerations in the selection of a
European city for an International Convention, including such topics as
travel logistics, costs, safety, quality of environment and availability of
good hotels.
 It also identifies the importance of 13 possible deterrents to the selection of
a specific city for an International Convention, including concerns with
safety, sanitation, cost, quality and convenience issues.
 It identifies the importance of 19 considerations in the assessment of a
Convention Center, including concerns about the size of the facility, the
helpfulness and competence of staff, technical and banquet facilities and
adequacy of nearby hotels.
ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DES PALAIS DE CONGRES
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONGRESS CENTRES
INTERNATIONALER VERBAND DER KONGRESSZENTREN
AIPC Secretariat Office | Rue de l’Amazone 55 | 1060 Brussels, Belgium
Tel [32] 496 23 53 27 | Fax [32] 2 534 63 38 | E-mail [email protected]
 It evaluates the importance of eight potentially influential groups /
individuals various parties upon the selection of geographic
locations.
 It also evaluates the importance of nineteen different information sources in
the selection of a geographic location for an international meeting in
Europe.
 It rates the relative importance of destination web-sites for various
uses in meeting planning.
 It measures familiarity with and usage of trade media publications
and directories and websites.
 It identifies the European cities perceived as having the best
convention centres for large international congresses.
How to use this information:
The value of this type of information is the insight it provides into factors which
are important to satisfy the needs of decision makers and which ultimately result
in a site decision. There is, for example, a profile of respondents that indicates
their positions in the organizational structure, size of meetings and recent
locations of those meetings. At the same time, there is a listing of the key factors
which influence the site decision, against which individual product offerings can
be compared. These are classified as “logistical”, “environmental” and
“recreational” and each category contains a number of features ranked in order
of their importance to decision makers.
Equally important are the survey results relating to the rating of information
sources used to facilitate decision-making. The responses to this section can
assist the reader in planning their marketing tactics in ways that correspond not
only to how the site decision is made but also where the decision makers are
most likely to look to get the information to inform their decision.
Because the survey group is divided into European and North American planners,
it also allows a comparison of attitudes and preferences between these two
different groups. The reader will note some distinct differences between the ways
each of these groups regards the European product and the ways in which they
acquire and process information about it. These comparisons are very useful in
identifying which features are of greatest importance to each, how the product
appears overall and how best to reach each group with promotional messages.
Europoll Market Survey – AIPC Version | Introduction | Nov 06
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The primary findings of the Europoll survey follow. The complete survey
is available from the AIPC Secretariat on request.
Europoll Market Survey – AIPC Version | Introduction | Nov 06
page 3 of 3