This study assesses tourism policy and service quality management in business and conference tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), examining the capacity of KSA to become an international business conference tourism destination. It considers the factors that could favour or hinder the expansion of the conference industry in (KSA), Research was conducted through mixed methods, the fact that qualitative and quantitative designs complement each other - each covering for the weakness of the other including original data drawn from interviews and questionnaires. The target respondents are officials from the Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau, which is the government organisation responsible for conferences, drawn from the public sector, and staff and managers of tourism companies drawn from the private sector. Understanding these factors is vital to enable stakeholders to address the opportunities and challenges that may emerge. Substantial analysis of the interviews and questionnaires brings out both important recurring themes and specific detail. The personal views of the participants reflect optimism for the sector's current performance and its prospects in the future. The participants also noted that the continuous increase of the sector's performance in KSA has been secured mostly due to the government's support. It demonstrated that there are several positive factors about KSA that may promote a thriving conference tourism sector. This is contrary to the expectations that global issues such as terrorism, and the negative images they have painted of the Arab world from the Western perspective, which have increased safety concerns for delegates visiting KSA. A further objective was to analyse the quality of service and its effects on business conference tourism in (KSA). This facilitates the rating of the current condition of facilities used in conference tourism, as well as the status of supporting industries such as hospitality. Respondents in this context include external delegates who use these services and can give a first-hand account of their experiences. From these responses, it was established that that a large percentage of external delegates preferred staying in 4- and 5-star hotels. The fact that these hotels were available for these delegates meant that the hospitality industry in KSA is large enough to accommodate conferences and also that the level of customer satisfaction that they offer is relatively high. A further objective was to explore the social and political feasibility of KSA developing as a business conference tourism destination. This objective was addressed using the responses of internal conference delegates to evaluate how the social and political characteristics and perceptions of KSA may influence the future conditions of conference tourism in the country. The data gathered shows that there is a close relationship between social and political factors, and the performance of business and conference tourism in KSA. Several elements of the social and political environment have a bearing, not only tourism but also on other sectors in the country One of these is infrastructure; with appropriate infrastructure, which can only be attained with responsible political planning, the running of many industries will be smooth. This study has established that KSA has the infrastructural capability for hosting international conferences, and its organizational capabilities are good. The themes uncovered have pointed out that the Saudi tradition is significant in the development of Saudi Arabia as a business and conference tourism destination. Culture has been shown to be significant determinant of the sector. It is thus important to consider the cultural attributes that act as obstacles to KSA gaining a position as a business and conference tourism destination, while also noting that the themes have pointed out that several socio-political challenges surround the development of Saudi Arabia as a business and conference tourism destination.

Conference tourism is a young and vibrant industry, which is growing and developing at a prompt rate (Rogers, 2013). The rapid growth of conference tourism and its importance (e.g. economic benefits for destinations) caused a significant academic interest in this topic in 1990's (Yoo & Weber, 2005). Witt et al (1995) argued that the concrete conference theme and the conference destination are likely to make an impact on an individual’s decision, but it is still not clear if a destination or a conference per se attracts people the most. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate variables that are the most and the least important for attendees of conferences from Sweden when they decide which conference they will attend. Moreover, it will focus particularly on the leisure motivations of conference participants, for instance, destination choice, and their importance for conference attendees.  The empirical study of Yoo and Chon (2008) about the measurement scale of factors affecting convention participation decision-making proved that the ‘destination stimuli’ factor is the first among conference participants from the US, the UK and Australia. This study will partly replicate the study of Yoo and Chon (2008), but at the same time, makes its own contribution to the field of the conference participation decision making process. Firstly, it broadens the geographical scope of the studies within the conference participation decision making process, as have been suggested by Yoo and Weber (2005). Moreover, Yi and Park (2003) argued that culture difference might have impact on decision making process, so it is worth to test if there are any difference between Scandinavian and British, American and Australian conference participants.  The study has been conducted using the quantitative method, particularly, survey method, which have been sent out using the Internet Survey Monkey tool in order to increase the response. Overall, we received 143 valid replies that helped us to make a conclusion that for academics from Umeå University in Sweden the ’educational opportunities’ are the most important factor, while ‘destination stimuli’ one does not affect their decision to go to some conference at all. So, it is worth to test if the difference in the results between Yoo and Chon (2008) study and the current one are caused by the cultural difference or by any other feature. Moreover, it is recommend to extend the geographical scope of the studies within the conference participation decision making process.

This research study aims to assess the potential for Saudi Arabia to become an international conference destination. Faced with problems created by rising unemployment, a rapidly growing population, and fears over dependence on petroleum output and price, the kingdom is currently looking to develop new sources of employment and national revenue. Having joined the World Trade Organization in 2005, Saudi Arabia is committed to liberalizing its markets and opening to foreign participation by creating investment and business opportunities. Developing an international conference sector is considered a potentially suitable way to meet the current domestic and international imperatives to change and the challenges these present.‎ The growth of new markets and international conference destinations in a globalizing economy is leading to increased research. However, the field is still young: there has been limited attention paid to the perspective of delegates and much of the research has been concerned with western destinations. As no other study has been carried out into the potential of this sector in Saudi Arabia, or the Gulf region, this research makes an original contribution to knowledge. A mixed methods approach was adopted to explore and assess both the practical capacity of the country to host international conferences and the socio-political context that might impact on this development. The primary sources of data were officials in the field and visiting delegates, whose views and knowledge were obtained through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods (through a questionnaire and interviews respectively). The results are integrated in the final discussion. The findings indicate that, although Saudi Arabia has the practical capacity to host international conferences, the effects of an ambivalent attitude towards opening up to the outside world - expressed through a number of factors embedded in the socio-political situation in the kingdom - has led to an impasse which is blocking development.