TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 CONCEPT OF TOURISM MARKETING
2.2 THE INTERNET AND TOURISM MARKETING
2.3 IDENTIFYING TOURISM BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN NIGERIA
2.4 PROMOTING COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM INITIATIVE IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.3 STUDY POPULATION
3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
3.5 DATA FOR THE STUDY: INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.1 INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.2 VALIDITY OF INSTRUMENT
3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DATA ANALYSIS (QUESTIONNAIRE)
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.2 CONCLUSION
5.3 RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Tourism is considered as one of the world largest growing industry and despite the occurrences of terrorism, air catastrophes, tsunamis and other natural disasters and even the present global economic meltdown, it has remained robust as there is no sign of slowing down in growth trend. In today’s challenging economic climate, every business needs an organization-wide commitment to a comprehensive marketing strategy so it will stand out among the growing number of competitors competing for consumers (Iyiola and Oni-Ojo, 2013); however, tourism business in Nigeria has failed to do this. Despite many obstacles facing the continent of Africa, tourism is having an impact on the economy of the continent.
According to WTO (2009) international tourist arrivals have continued to experience a growth trend from 25 million in 1950, to 277 million in 1980, to 438 million in 1990, to 684 million in 2000, and reaching 922 million in 2008. The robust growth market for tourism has been in Africa, with most destinations showing steadily more than above average increases in arrivals and receipts. For example, from 2000 and 2005, international tourist arrivals to Africa increased from 28 to 40 million – an average growth of 5.6 % a year, compared to a worldwide ANNUAL total of 3.1 %. During this period total Africa’s International tourism incomes jumped from US$ 10.5 billion to US$ 21.3 billion (WTO, 2009).
Tourism and hospitality sector is the fasted growing sector of global economic. This claim is supported by statistical data from regional, national, and international studies (WTO, 2000; WWTC, 2005). Globalization of the tourism market has made tourism business environment more complex. This is because tourists whether inbound or out bound are in search of places and attractions that will optimally satisfy their touristic desires. The global choice of destination according to Henderson (2007) is growing and certain of these destinations have similar characteristics. This gives rise to a situation where one can be replaced by another as the notion of destination choice set implies. Destination is commonly referred to as place in tourism parlance. Tourism destinations are places with tourists’ attractions. Attraction can be manmade, natural, or cultural. The attraction and the benefit it offers are sometimes the reasons for visiting a destination.
The World Tourism Organization, a United Nations agency, has denned tourism as: “the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes” (Middleton and Hawkins, 1998). Since the 1950s, the numbers of international tourists and their expenditures have grown from an estimated 25 million arrivals in 1950 to more than 500 million in the late 1990s. It is projected that global tourism will grow 3 to 4 percent a year between 1995 and 2010 (Middleton and Hawkins, 1998). If one considers the amount of money spent in travel, lodging, food, and entertainment, then tourism is currently the world’s largest industry. But the question arises: what will be the impact of increased economic activity of this type in Africa? Tourism, unlike more measurable commodities (i.e., minerals, cocoa, and coffee), provides services to visitors who travel to the source to consume them.
Tourism is a viable factor in the World economy. The rise of travel and tourism has shown significant resilience globally. Despite slow economic growth in advanced economies and geopolitical tensions in some regions, the Travel and Tourism sector still accounts for a large part of the global economy (estimated to be approximately 9% of global GDP or US$ 7 trillion) and employment, while the number of international travellers continue to increase. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC, 2015), the travel & tourism sector is forecast to continue growing at 4% annually—faster than financial services, transport and manufacturing (Crotti and Misrahi, 2015). Meke (2008) notes that over the past six decades, tourism has witnessed progressive growth and diversification which has made it one of the leading, largest and fastest growing economic sectors of the world. For instance, in 2012, tourists from China spent $102 billion (U.S.) on international travel. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, this figure for the first time ranks China top among spenders in international tourism—ahead of Germany and the United States. International tourists from each of these two countries spent about $84 billion (U.S.) (Awake!, 2014).
In Nigeria, Tourism has significantly contributed to the nation’s development in various ways such as generation of employment opportunities, enhanced brand image, income generation and solving the problem of balance of payment deficit, boosting Gross Domestic Products and increasing the nation’s per capita income (Egbaji, 2007).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
While tourism industry in Nigeria has never been fully developed in a large scale capacity, it has suffered tremendously during the past military and (even) civilian rules (Iyiola and Akintunde, 2011). Gray (1989) concludes that Nigeria is still not a popular tourist destination as tourism services in are not geared in as large degree towards tourists, unlike Kenya and Ivory Coast. Tourism, although beginning to perform well in other African countries such as Ghana, South Africa, and even Tanzania; is almost non-existent in Nigeria; owing to the country’s poor international image, combined with the obstacle placed in the way of visitors, for example difficulties in obtaining visas and the lack of suitable accommodation, few people visit Nigeria solely as tourists (Iyiola and Akintunde, 2011). In late 2002 the government declared tourism as one of its six key areas for economic development in 2003-07; however, this has not come to reality yet.
Nigeria’s tourism potential has been underdeveloped as there are a relatively large number of sites which have not been visited due to inadequate or lack of promotion, as such, these sites are not generating sufficient revenue for the state. In as much as the products, price and distribution are in order, the promotional strategies pose a challenge, hence, the need for a study on Assessing the role of promotion mix in the development of tourism centers in Nigeria.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to examine the role of promotion mix in the development of tourism centers in Nigeria. The specific objectives of this study include the following:
1. To ascertain the tourism promotion mix elements adopted by tourism centers in Nigeria.
2. To identify the impact of tourism promotion mix elements on the satisfaction of tourists.
3. To examine the influence of promotion mix on customers’ retention in tourist centers.
4. To investigate the impact of promotion mix in attracting investors to tourist centers in Nigeria.
5. To find out the most effective tourism marketing mix elements that will lead to the satisfaction of tourists.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The relevant research question related to this study include the following:
1. What are the tourism promotion mix elements adopted by tourism centers in Nigeria.
2. What is the impact of tourism promotion mix elements on the satisfaction of tourists?
3. What is the influence of promotion mix on customers’ retention in tourist centers?