Study on Legacy Models : How Destination Management Organizations Can Develop a Successful Legacy Model?
Liukkonen, Marianne (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024111628420
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024111628420
Tiivistelmä
Legacy is the long-term impacts that are left behind to contribute to the local communities by congresses and events. Legacy has been on the rise internationally and is becoming a requirement for destinations by associations. Legacy models help organizations to navigate and educate on possible legacy opportunities. The commissioner of the thesis Visit Espoo presented the research topic of benchmarking legacy models and toolkits which the thesis is based on.
To investigate the legacy and long-term impacts of congresses, it is essential to understand the concepts of legacy and the nature of association congresses. The Theoretical framework covers the relevant details of legacy and the importance of investing in legacy right now, since the focus has shifted to long-term impacts instead of short-term. The theoretical framework also defines what congresses and association congresses are and how valuable they are to the industry.
The commissioning company for this thesis is Visit Espoo. Visit Espoo is the destination management organization for Espoo and is a part of Enter Espoo Oy which works as a marketing company, which attracts new companies, investments and international and domestic visitors to Espoo. Visit Espoo and Congress and Corporate Events as drivers of Innovation and Sustainability in the Helsinki Capital Region -Project (KOKEMO), which is done in collaboration with Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa, will utilize the results of this thesis when conducting a model to pilot in the capital region.
The results were conducted by using qualitative research methods, competitive benchmarking and semi-structured interviews. Four organizations were benchmarked, and five organizations were interviewed. For both research methods international and domestic organizations were used. The organizations were chosen because they are frontrunners of legacy globally and domestically. The benchmark analysis and interview process started at the beginning of September 2024 and lasted until the beginning of November 2024.
The key findings from the benchmark research and interviews are that a successful legacy model should include 3-4 strong stages. The stages should cover the themes of before event planning, during event and post event process. It is also important to identify key strengths of the destination and the possible gaps and work around them with relevant stakeholders to create an impact that will benefit the local community. Tracking data and feedback post event is crucial for possible developments to the model in the future. The results of the thesis can be utilized by destination management organizations starting their legacy journey.
To investigate the legacy and long-term impacts of congresses, it is essential to understand the concepts of legacy and the nature of association congresses. The Theoretical framework covers the relevant details of legacy and the importance of investing in legacy right now, since the focus has shifted to long-term impacts instead of short-term. The theoretical framework also defines what congresses and association congresses are and how valuable they are to the industry.
The commissioning company for this thesis is Visit Espoo. Visit Espoo is the destination management organization for Espoo and is a part of Enter Espoo Oy which works as a marketing company, which attracts new companies, investments and international and domestic visitors to Espoo. Visit Espoo and Congress and Corporate Events as drivers of Innovation and Sustainability in the Helsinki Capital Region -Project (KOKEMO), which is done in collaboration with Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa, will utilize the results of this thesis when conducting a model to pilot in the capital region.
The results were conducted by using qualitative research methods, competitive benchmarking and semi-structured interviews. Four organizations were benchmarked, and five organizations were interviewed. For both research methods international and domestic organizations were used. The organizations were chosen because they are frontrunners of legacy globally and domestically. The benchmark analysis and interview process started at the beginning of September 2024 and lasted until the beginning of November 2024.
The key findings from the benchmark research and interviews are that a successful legacy model should include 3-4 strong stages. The stages should cover the themes of before event planning, during event and post event process. It is also important to identify key strengths of the destination and the possible gaps and work around them with relevant stakeholders to create an impact that will benefit the local community. Tracking data and feedback post event is crucial for possible developments to the model in the future. The results of the thesis can be utilized by destination management organizations starting their legacy journey.