Evaluation of congress performance and congress attendees' satisfaction – a case study of Novi Sad (Serbia)

The congress industry is a young, dynamic industry, which is growing and maturing at a rapid rate. It is now a truly international industry, witnessing huge investments across all continents. Due to economic and other benefits of a more intangible nature, the number of congress destinations and venues worldwide is growing. In order to provide the sustainability of congress destinations and venues, it is important to examine congress delegates’ experience, their overall satisfaction as well as behavioural intentions regarding destination. This study was conducted in the city of Novi Sad, which is after Belgrade the most important international meeting destination in Serbia. The purpose of this study is to examine the experience and overall satisfaction of the attendees at international congresses held in Novi Sad. Also, the relationship between overall satisfaction, word-of-mouth and intention to return were examined. A questionnaire survey was used as an instrument for the study. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS standard package. The results showed high level of attendees’ satisfaction with the congress elements and with destination choice. Also, the results confirmed that Novi Sad has a great potential for development of congress tourism, as the majority of the respondents show great interest to visit Novi Sad again and they would recommend city as a meeting destination. The results of this study are valuable for congress centre managers and for destination management organizations.