The Role Of Media And Communication In Tourism Development

ABSTRACT

Tourism attraction plays a significant role in the consumer buying behavior since different consumers have different personality traits which reflect their buying behavior. The serious problem that marketers must contend with is how to determine when personality is an important factor in buying decision and when it is not and analyzing the different personality traits which are dominant among people of one region or another. This research work has the objective of assessing the relationship between tourism attraction factors and consumer buying behavior in South Eastern Nigeria. Survey method of data collection was used in the course of the research. Analysis of data which was collected by the use of questionnaire and hypotheses testing was done using multiple regression and t-test statistics. The results indicated that each of the each factor and trait adopted exerts significant influence on tourist choice of attraction, thus social character, complaint, aggressiveness and ethnocentrism were significantly and positively related to customer buying behavior in South Eastern Nigeria. Therefore the study recommended that considering the social character nature of people in this region, tourist planners and government should target their strategies on convincing the social influencers within any age grade, as their purchase decisions will go a long way in commanding the brand acceptance of each service. And that since the people most times lodge based on prestige, emotions and luxuries attached to their social status therefore advertising messages and all marketing communications should be aim towards giving recognitions to status.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0    Background of Study

The story of Nigeria’s tourism industry is one of unfulfilled potentials. According to Adeleke (2009) as cited by Honey and Gilpin (2009), Nigeria is tailor-made for tourism. Its over 370 ethnic groups give it a rich cultural heritage and it is blessed with natural wonders, unique wildlife and a very favorable climate. Yet very little effort has been undertaken to develop her tourism destinations. Tourism destination is the place of interest a tourist intends to visit for leisure and other purpose. Ernie and Wall (2002) classified tourism destination into two attraction/recreation and hospitality. Attraction/recreation refers to sites designed for sightseeing, photo taking, game playing, and relaxation to have fun. They include zoo, museum, monuments, beach and amusement part. Hospitality encompasses organizations, which provide guests with food, drinks, and leisure facilities including accommodation. They include hotels and resorts. Swarbook and Horner (2007) affirmed that tourism destinations offer services that are inseparable from the provider and their experiences and memories after consumption cannot easily be stored. Consumer behavior involves certain decisions, activities, ideas or experiences that satisfy consumer needs and wants (Solomon, 2006). It is concerned with all activities directly involved in obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services, including the decision processes that precede and follow these actions (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 2005 Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., & Miniard, R. W. (1995). According to Solomon (2006), consumer behavior is a study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires. The official definition of consumer behavior given by Belch (1998) is ‘the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires’. Behavior occurs either for the individual, or in the context of a group, or an organization. Consumer behavior is a highly important issue for all marketing activities which have the purpose to promote and sell tourism products. The tourism consumer behavior can be defined as the ensemble of its acts, attitudes and decisions regarding choosing, buying and consuming tourism products and services, and also its post-consuming reactions.

The discovery of the consumer’s needs and decision processes is very important for the marketing activity because it allows the marketing manager to improve his own decision-making process, to forecast future behavior and to have a real and objective image of the consumer demand. Understanding consumer behavior is important for developing new tourism products and services because it offers a clearer view of what consumers are looking for and the manager can reflect them in the development process. Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption. It is a fact that today’s Nigerians attitudes towards holiday making are very positive. Although travelers have a strong desire to travel, the cost, affordability and accessibility will need to be assessed to turn potential into actual demand (Glover, 2010). Therefore, further study needs to be carried out to investigate their consumer behavior as suggested by Tsiotsu and Ratten (2010).

Moreover, Aziz and Ariffin (2009) suggested that behaviouristic study is required to understand the travelers market as pleasure travel is expanding in Nigeria. They also remark that it is crucial to investigate how people make their travel decisions and what they enjoy during travelling.  Travelling has become easier and more affordable than it was before. These changes are contributing to the age of travelers getting younger. Hence, it is not deniable that travelers are an increasingly important segment in both tourism businesses and studies. Despite an increasing interest in the market size of  travelers, economic potential and their desire to travel, relatively little is known about their travel lifestyles and intentions to overseas travel. Those travelers who were risk averse in their personality were likely not only to use a wider range of information sources, but also to choose certain types of holiday and accommodation choices (Alvarez and Asugman, 2006). Thus, the personality trait was linked to both type of travel and information source usage. The motivations are likely to be different for people who are very concerned with being fashionable, or are preoccupied with their health, or live alone and want to make new friends, or enjoy partying. Therefore, this study aims to provide insights on consumer behavior in tourist attraction development in Nigeria.

1.2 Statement Of Problem

The rate of growth of tourist attraction in Imo state phenomenal; although there are few constraints to the growth and development; the economy of Nigeria has a significant effect on the level of patronage by consumers in the sense that; one cannot visit most of these places with financial buoyancy. Secondly the distance of most of these tourist attraction site are far from most of the consumers; the Oguta beach for instance is at Oguta local government area of Imo state; people from other local government cannot easily navigate their way to this part of Imo State. The transportation route in Imo state is not well planned despite the good road; this is another issue with the development of tourism in Imo state. Lastly, continuous rainfall in Imo especially during the rainy season is a major setback on tourism.

• Aims And Objectives Of The Study

The broad aim of this study is to assess the role of tourist attraction development in consumer behavior in Imo State.

The objectives are as follows;

• To find the relationship between tourist attraction and consumer behavior
• To find out the effect of consumer behavior on tourism
• To find out the factors affecting tourist attraction development in Imo state.

1.4    Research Question

• What is the relationship between tourist attraction and consumer behavior
• What is the effect of consumer behavior on tourism?
• What are the factors affecting tourist attraction development in Imo state?

1.5    Hypothesis

H1: There is a significant relationship between tourist attraction development and consumer behavior

H0: There is no significant relationship between tourist attraction development and consumer behavior

1.6    Significance Of The Study

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of benefit to the federal ministry of culture and tourism travelers, lectures, tourists and students, the study will help to identify the problems face by consumers in travel and tourism in Nigeria. The study will also be of great benefit to the researchers who intends to embark on research on similar topics as it will serve as a guide.

The findings of this study lend further support disposable income will lead to whether a destination is selected specifically during the pre-trip stage of the tourist decision-making process.

1.7    DEFINITION OF TERMS

CONSUMER: A consumer is a person or organization that uses economic services or commodities. In economic systems consumer are utilities expressed in the decision to trade or not.

BEHAVIOUR: Behavior (American English) or behaviour (Commonwealth English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with themselves or their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the (inanimate) physical environment

CONSUMERS BEHAVIOUR: Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy their needs and wants.

TOURISM: Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the traveler’s country.

Pages:  30

Category: Seminar

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo                           

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.