First, it attempts to offer a comprehensive overview of the diverse and fragmented world of business travel and tourism. It endeavours to do this at a time when there is still relatively little literature on any aspect of this subject. However, the authors believe that there is a need for a text which, albeit tentatively, tries to offer a holistic view of business travel and tourism given that most of its elements are interrelated. We cannot separate the time spent at a conference from the journey that took delegates there or the leisure activities they indulge in when the working day is over. Likewise, both practitioners and students need to have an understanding of both the design and development of convention centres and their marketing. The authors also believe it is important that the text covers both the supply and the demand side of business tourism, for both are clearly interdependent.
