Motivational factors to participate in conferences and gender differences.

Conference tourism is of growing importance for destinations, although has been severely impacted by the travel and venue capacity restrictions caused by COVID-19. The main aim of this study is to analyse the motivation of conference tourism demand from a gender-based perspective. Data were gathered using an online survey instrument developed on the basis of a literature review. A total of 265 responses received were subjected to exploratory factor, ANOVA and logistic regression analyses. The sample was composed of 52.5% men and 47.5% women and the average age of respondents was 44.25 (SD = 9.87). The results indicated five motivating factors for attending conferences: Destination and leisure, academic and professional development, networking, travelability and cost. Significant gender differences were found in the first four factors. Female attendees at conferences considered these factors more important than male attendees did. The implications of these findings for conference organisers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]