DETERMINANTS OF TOURISM MARKETING RESPONSIVENESS IN CROSS RIVER AND AKWA IBOM STATE OF NIGERIA

DETERMINANTS ON SHARE PRICES IN THE NIGERIAN STOCK MARKET

CHAPTER ONE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1       Background to the Study

Tourism is currently the fastest growing sector of the global economy (Obot, 2003). It is already the number one industry in many countries, in terms of foreign exchange earnings and job creation (Agene, 2005). Tourism is at present the major export product for 83 percent of the developing countries and main export of one third of them (Esu 2005). In 2000 specifically, developing Countries recorded 292.6 million international arrivals (WTO 2003).

Ukene (2003) quoting IMF report of the year 2000 asserted that tourism generated U$504 billion in the year 2000 globally. The figure is far above sectors such as automotive products, chemicals, food, petroleum, computers and office equipment, textile, telecommunication, mining, iron and steel. The tourism industry includes diverse activities such as transportation, recreation, catering etc. It affirmed as one of the world’s largest source of employment with more than 260 million people employed in the sector globally(WTO 2013). It is also reported that more than 613 million people were serviced by the industry globally. It stimulates an annual investment in capital projects or infrastructure to the tunes of US$ 800 billion (Obot, 2013). It is also reported to account for about 11 percent of global gross domestic product GDP (WTO, 2013)

Characteristics of the tourism sites are those important features which make destinations necessary and exciting for companies when planning marketing/ social media strategy. Such important characteristics include quality of service (assurance) reliability of tourism promotions, functionability of tangibles, socio- cultural dimensions, government commitment etc. Tourists’ responsiveness can be viewed as how tourists react to changes in tourism businesses.

According to National population commission, as of 2010, more than 100 million people lived in Nigeria, making it the most populated country in Africa and the most populated country in the whole black race. In 2011, more than 2 million tourists visited Nigeria (Ferrise, 2010). The various international church crusades and conferences coupled with foreign investors on business, tourism made the bulk of the tourists and spent the equivalent of $ 3.7 million US Dollars and the figure is expected to rise by 10 percent increase year by year. Tourists are attracted by Nigeria’s cultural diversity, scenery and festivals, each region of Nigeria offer something for foreign visitors from Obudu Cattle Ranch, Osum Osegbo Grove, Olumo Rock, Agbokim water falls in Calabar and a number of beaches and coastal in cities. Tourism development in Nigeria has undergone gradual but progressive evolution with each phase reflecting its growing importance in the economy (Osuaka, 2001). It encompasses 904 million tourists who spent 855 billion US dollars. They supported global system with roughly 100 million employers in modern leisure and experience industry. Tourism is all about place marketing. The term “place” marketing is better appreciated when we look at the spatial differentiation of places. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1998) defines spatial as the ability to judge the position and distance of objects. It is because of the perceived difference between the individual’s present geographical position and the desired one that motivated the individual to move to the latter. It is based on this understanding that tourism is described as a powerful temporary movement of an individual to destinations outside his or her normal home or work place (Esu, 2006). The “place” is both the product and the container of an assemblage of products. In tourism marketing, the tourist is identified as a place customer. The role of marketing in place or tourism management is often questioned. The role of marketing is to create satisfied customers and keep them at a profit (Drucker, 1965).

Razalli, Dahlan and Ramayah (2010) defined tourism marketing responsiveness as the management ability to respond to change. The force of competition affects the overall performance of the tourism industry and or destinations. Responsiveness is also related to the time-based competition (Stalk and Hout 1990). The reason for competition based on time is that time is equivalent to money, productivity, quality and even innovation (Stalk 1988). The success of a tourist destination is anchored on the manager’s ability to identify, adapt and overcome forces that may confront its operations in the market.

Virtually, all the local government areas in Nigeria have varying degrees of tourism attractions. This attests to richness of the Nigerian natural and cultural attractions as described by Fagbile (2001). The economic importance of tourism is quite enormous. It educates the travelers, provides funds for ecological conservation, creates jobs, protects and conserves the environment, improves the well-being of local people, ensures direct financial support to local people, creates political empowerment of local communities, generates revenue for government, maintains peace, law and order in the society, fostering respect for different culture and for human rights and contributes to economic development. However, this has attracted many scholarly enquires on the factors that may determine the tourism site characteristics and tourists’ responsiveness in Cross River  and Akwa Ibom States of Nigeria, considering its strategic importance to the economic development of any nation.

 

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The importance of tourism to national economic development has been well documented in many social science researches (Obot 2003, Esu 2005 and Omole 2013). This is evidenced by the number of scholarly writings in the area of tourism marketing. Today, tourism business has become a major source of foreign exchange to many developing and developed economies of the world. Adebajo, (2008) observed that tourism business in some countries have accounted for over 40 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) and it is an essential source of foreign exchange to many nations.

Accordingly, many empirical and methodological studies have confirmed that tourism generates employment and accounts for many countries sources of revenue. However, most of these studies have failed to investigate how several factors (demographic, socio-economic and tourism sites characteristics) affect the patronage of tourism destinations. For instance, studies by Esu (2005) and Omole (2013) identified factors that influence tourism marketing but did not determine how the different factors of the tourists and of the destinations affect tourists’ responsiveness. Thus, despite these efforts by many scholars, there is still an incomplete understanding of how tourism characteristics such as destination factors, communication factors and government-commitment affect the patronage of tourism sites in the two states. Esu (2005) identified factors that influence tourism marketing but did not quantify to what extent the factors impacted on the tourists by attracting them.

To this end, a better understanding of tourism site characteristics and tourists’ responsiveness has the potential to improve on the performance of tourism business in the area. Thus, one area that has received a lot of attention recently is tourism characteristics and tourists’ responsiveness. This is evidenced in the number of scholarly publications made in the area in recent times.

However, despite the growth and increasing importance of the industry, there seems to be little research efforts on why and how  consumers or patrons make decisions about tourism sites attraction in Nigeria as only a limited number of studies have been published in this area. This study is therefore an attempt to fill that knowledge gap in the literature.

 

 

1.3       The Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the factors that affect tourists’ responsiveness to tourism destinationsin Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. Thus, the specific objectives of this study include:

  1. to determine the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of tourists in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.
  2. to identify the characteristics of the different tourism destinations in the two States.

iii.        to assess the level of tourists’ responsiveness in the two states.

  1. to explore ways through which tourism business can be improved in the two states.

 

1.4       Research Questions

To facilitate the attainment of the objective of this study, the following research questions have been formulated:

 

  1. What are the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the tourists in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States?
  2. What are the characteristics of the different tourism destinations in the two states?
  3. What is the level of tourists’ responsiveness in the two states?
  4. In what way(s) can tourism business be improved in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States?

 

1.5       Research Hypotheses

Two hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. These include:

Ho1:     Socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the tourists do not significantly influence tourists’ responsiveness in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.

Ho2:     The characteristics of the different tourism destinations in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States do not significantly influence tourists’ responsiveness.

1.6       Significance of the Study:

The result of this study would be of great significance to the government which, upon recognition of the revenue potential of tourism, has invested energy and resources into the sector. Knowing what makes tourists respond positively to their efforts government will definitely optimize the performance of the sector and revenue to government. The study will also benefit investors. With the continuous promotion and emphasis placed on tourism development, the result of this study would serve as a guide to investors in their decision to invest and earn returns from their investment.

To the academic community, additional stock of material on tourism marketing would have been added at the end of this study, thereby increasing knowledge of marketing students and making available reference material for future researchers. To the tourists, this study would further strengthen their passion for embarking on tourism as what interest them most would best be addressed in this work.

1.7       Scope of the Study

The scope of the study covered tourism site characteristics and tourists’ responsiveness as well as its impediment from the view point of tourists. However, being a very broad area, tourism and its related concepts would also form part of this investigation. In terms of geophysical coverage, the study was carried out in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States of Nigeria.

1.8       Limitations of the Study

This study was limited by a number of factors. First, the study was limited by the sample size used. Data provided by various sources were not the same. Second, the samples came from Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, thus making generalization of this result limited.

1.9       Organization of the Study

This study was presented in five chapters. Chapter one  contained the introductory statement including background to the study, statement of the problem, research objectives, research questions, hypotheses, significance of the study etc.  In Chapter two, related literature was reviewed. The focus was on the conceptual framework, theoretical framework and empirical framework all of which centered on tourism site characteristics and tourists’ responsiveness as well as the impeding factors and other related terms.

Chapter three contained the research methodology with focus on the design adopted, population, sample, sources of data, and method of data collection, research instrument and method of data analysis. In Chapter four, the data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, while summary, conclusion and recommendation along with area for further studies and contribution to knowledge were stated in chapter five.

1.10     The Study Area        

This study was conducted in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States which made up the erstwhile south eastern states created on May 27, 1967 from the Eastern Region by the General Yakubu Gowon regime. Its name was changed from south eastern state to Cross River State in the 1976 State creation exercise by the then General Murtala Mohammad regime. Cross River State maintained this name after Akwa Ibom State was carved out of it in 1987.Its capital is Calabar. Cross River State is named after Cross River, which passes through the state. Located in the Niger Delta, Cross River State occupies an area of 201,156 square kilometers. It shares boundaries with Benue State to the North, Enugu and Abia States to the West, to the east by Cameroon republic and to the South by Akwa Ibom State and the Atlantic Oceans. There are three major language groups in Cross River State namely, Efik, Ejagham and Bekwara. The culture of the different groups in the state bears striking similarities. Each rhythm and dance expresses the inner feelings of the people which relate to particular events, festivals or their ways of life. Dances in Cross River State include Ekpe, Nkwa, Obon, Udoiminyang, Abang, Moninkim, Ayita, Udiangotickui and many others. Traditional festivals relating to farming activities are observed in Yala, Yarkurr, Obubra, Ogoja, Obudu, Obanliku and Boki local Government areas. These festivals are observed to celebrate the rich harvest of the season.

Economy

The Cross River State economy is predominantly agricultural and is sub-divided into two sectors, the public and the private sectors. The private sector is dominated by local subsistence farmers while the public sector is run by the Government and features large plantations and demonstration farms. The state government places emphasis on fish farming as a measure to diversify its economy. To this end, it took measures to boost fish production, processing, storage and marketing. Major livestock in the state are cattle, goats and sheep. Rearing activities are mainly undertaken by local farmers and nomadic Fulanis.

 Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom State is located in the coastal southern part of the country and lies between latitudes 4º32’N and 5º33’N, and longitudes 7º2,5’È and 8º2,5’ È. The state is bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by River State and Abia States and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost tip of Cross River State.   Akwa Ibom States is currently, the highest oil and gas-producing state in the country. The state capital is at Uyo, with over 500,000 inhabitants.

The people of Akwa Ibom State are predominantly of the Christian faith. The main ethnic groups of the state are: Ibibio, Annang, Eket and Obolo.The Ibibio, Annang, Eket, speak a dialect of the Ibibio Language, and are the largest ethnic groups. The Oro (Oron) is an ethnic group similar to the Efik which also speak a dialect of Ibibio language and predominant in neighbouring Cross River State. Located at the Atlantic Ocean seasfront are the Eket, Ibeno and Eastern Obolo people. The Ibeno have similarities with Oro and Obolos. The Igbo language is also spoken in Akwa Ibom in the northern and western land borders. The Ibibio language belongs to the Benue – Congo group of language family, which forms part of Niger- Congo group of languages. Despite the homogeneity, no central government existed among the people of what is now Akwa Ibom State prior to the British invasion in 1904. Instead, the Annang, Oron, Efik, Ibenos and Ibibio were all autonomous groups. Akwa Ibom was created in 1987, Uyo was chosen as the state capital to spread development to all regions of the state.

1.11     Definition of Terms Used in the Study

Tourism: Tourism is defined as the science, art and business of attracting and transporting visitors, accommodating them and functionally catering for their needs and wants.

Tourism Marketing: This is defined as the delivery of tourism services that offer tourists maximum satisfaction leading to repeat visit to the destination.

Tourists’ Responsiveness: This is defined as the measure of attractiveness of tourists to the tourism site as a result of the standard of investment on the site characteristics. It can also be referred to as the reactions of tourists in terms of degree of patronage towards the quality of investment accountability on the tourism site characteristics.

Destination: This means tourism site or the place or location where the tourists’ attraction is located.

Tourism Product: This means the object of attraction and other facilities that support the tourist’s stay in the destination area.

Tourist: This is someone who travels out of his place of normal residence to a destination for leisure, learning and recreation.

Tourism Experience: This means how an individual perceives a product, which forms a benchmark for future decision experience.

Leisure: Leisure is defined as the disposal time available to and used by an individual, after work, for sleep or performance of personal and household chores.

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