CHAPTER ONE
1.0.INTRODUCTION:
Tourism is travel for pleasure; 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 traveller's country. The World Tourism
Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the
common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only ",
as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and
other purposes".
Tourism has become a popular global
leisure activity. Tourism can be domestic or international, and international
tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of
payments. Today, tourism is a major source of income for many countries, and
affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases being
of vital importance.
Tourism suffered as a result of a strong
economic slowdown of the late-2000s recession, between the second half of 2008
and the end of 2009, and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, but slowly
recovered. International tourism receipts (the travel item in the balance of
payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an
increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010. International tourist arrivals
surpassed the milestone of 1 billion tourists globally for the first time in 2012,
the same year in which China became the largest spender in international
tourism globally with US$102 billion, surpassing Germany and United States.
China and emerging markets such as Russia and Brazil had significantly
increased their spending over the previous decade.
Social media are computer-mediated tools
that allow people to create, share or exchange information, career interests,
ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks. Social media is
defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the
ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the
creation and exchange of user-generated content." Furthermore, social
media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive
platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss,
and modify user-generated content. They introduce substantial and pervasive
changes to communication between businesses, organizations, communities, and
individuals. These changes are the focus of the emerging field of techno
self-studies. Social media differ from traditional or industrial media in many
ways, including quality, reach, frequency, usability, immediacy and permanence.
Social media operates in a dialogic transmission system, (many sources to many
receivers). This is in contrast to traditional media that operates under a
monologic transmission model (one source to many receivers).
The rise in popularity of social
networking sites has led social networking to become a global phenomenon. After
many countries gained Internet access, the increase in the use of Internet
started influencing the economy and social life at the beginning of 20th
century (Milano, Baggio & Piattelli, 2011). Later on, in the era of Web
2.0, as social networking advanced, an increasing number of users on the
Internet began to participate in social networking websites and this has
resulted in the system of social networking to change (Milano, Baggio &
Piattelli, 2011; Seth, 2012).According to Clark and Robert (2010), social
networking sites are now mainly used for “job networking, targeted marketing,
and entertainment”. (p.507).
Social networking is a type of social
media; social networking sites allow Internet users to connect with people and
create information. Social networking sites are originally used for
entertainment purposes however an increase in the use of Internet and
information communication technologies has shifted the way people communicate
with each other, mainly in the tourism and tourism industries (Assenov &
Khurana, 2012; Clark & Roberts, 2010). For instance, social networking
sites like Facebook allow registered users to interact globally and freely with
people who share the Author: Same interest by uploading photos, sharing posts,
chatting, commenting on the posts and also getting replies, such features allow
companies to get quick feedback from consumers whereas consumers are able to
receive responses immediately. These software and technology features which are
available on social networking sites are also part of the Web 2.0 system (Seth,
2012). “Web 2.0 has also given popularity to user generated content (UGC) where
information is gathered from different online sources all of which collaborate
to form the final source” (Seth, 2012, p. 9). UGC has replaced traditional
marketing in terms of media advertising. The advertisements are often sponsored
posts promoted by people on social networking sites and these online
advertisements appear to be more trustworthy than advertisements from mass
media like televisions, radio, newspaper and magazines (Li & Darban, 2012).
Manap and Adzharudin pointed out that consumers were more likely to be
convinced to buy a product that is recommended by people who had experienced it
(experience good) rather than a search good, the researchers also stated that
it is possible to frequently utilize this strategy in the tourism industry.
(2013)
The change in consumer behavior is majorly
affected by the social networking sites which provide platforms for consumers
to connect with the company and other consumers (Bilgihan, Peng &
Kandampully, 2014).The explosive growth of the population of Internet user son
social networking sites has had a huge impact on tourism and tourism industry
whereby consumers are changing the rule of marketing. In order for a company to
be successful in business, it is necessary for marketers to make decisions
based on consumer needs, changes in society and also the development of technology.
By doing, it not only satisfies consumers but also strengthens the relationship
with customers to ensure they make a comeback. In addition, social networking
sites also help to record the information of consumers so that it is easy to be
obtained whenever needed (Assenov & Khurana, 2012). In addition, social
networking sites also provide social communication services which could create
brand awareness and build a good image for the brand (Bilgihan, Peng &
Kandampully, 2014).
There are many effects that stem from
internet usage. According to Nielsen, internet users continue to spend more
time with social media sites than any other type of site. At the same time, the
total time spent on social media in the U.S. across PC and mobile devices
increased by 99 percent to 121 billion minutes in July 2012 compared to 66
billion minutes in July 2011. For content contributors, the benefits of
participating in social media have gone beyond simply social sharing to
building reputation and bringing in career opportunities and monetary income,
as discussed in Tang, Gu, and Whinston (2012).
One of the most competitive fields of
Service sector is tourism industry, which requires effective management of
natural, financial and human resources existing in country. For developing
tourism industry in any country it is therefore important to provide relevant
Infrastructure, improve service quality and increase of customer satisfaction.
The essence of successful marketing is to provide sufficient value to gain
loyal, long-term customers. There are different types of instruments in
marketing, which aims to achieve of customer satisfaction and loathly. Social
media is a crucial tool for success in business today. People are already
talking about the business using social media, companies could establish good
relations directly to the customers. Use of the internet for booking tends to
be higher in countries that have high internet penetration levels and usage of
credit cards, especial in the USA and UK. But the highest levels,
interestingly, can be found in some smaller Travel and Tourism markets such as
Scandinavia (65% and higher) and Australia. Globally, different estimates
suggest that more than 50% of leisure trips and 40% of business trips are
booked online. By 2014, over 3 billion of the world’s adult population will be
able to transact electronically via mobile or internet technology with a 90%
mobile penetration rate and 6.5 billion mobile connections. (Travel and
Tourism, World Travel Tourism Council in 2011) Social media refers the
activities of different customers in the society, gathering and sharing online
information and knowledge. Marketers know that theoretically, social media
should be a powerful way to generate sustainable, positive word-of-mouth
marketing. It is very important that marketers select the right social media
platform, design the right message and engage the right users to spread that
message for implementing successful campaign. Tourism review team works daily
with a number of collaborative media for tourism industry and attracting
millions visitors from different countries. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
Podcasts and travel shake are the best known and effective social media
networks for marketing in tourism and tourism industry. The impact and usage of
social media marketing strategies are very crucial for satisfying tourist
demand in the global world. The creation and accessibility of internet space
has radically changed tourists’ motivation to plan and book trips with
different destination. Companies grow their confidence and familiarity with the
social web to receive all successful information from researching travel on
websites.
To access new information technology now
is very easy and this has radically altered the way in which information is
created and disseminated. Accordingly, marketers have possibility to use social
media to stimulate and encourage interaction of customers to facilitate
developing awareness of tourists in through the country.
It has already been mentioned, that
“business increasingly acknowledge the potential role of the online social
networks as marketing instruments” (Lorenzo-Romero et al., 2011, p.171). Going
a step beyond, “the multiple possibilities of the internet as a means of
communication among consumers, as well as between consumers and companies,
allow for the emergence of new forms of social relationships as well as new
marketing approaches, both in terms of selling, promotion and relational
paradigms” (Pinho and Soares, 2011, p.116) That is why the advent of social networking
sites (SNS) has offered new opportunities to companies and their brands;
especially promoting their brands, products and services. According to
Lorenzo-Romero et al. (2011, p.172) “social networking sites not only offer
users the possibility of networking with each other, but also users can become
consumers; this means that users have the chance to gather more information
about the brands/products/services they prefer, through user reviews, making
thus better buying decisions’’. Consequently, “creating social networking
environments and motivating customers and prospects to use them, lead to
engagement with the customers and increasing customer trust and loyalty”.
According to Pinho and Soares (2011), social networks, like Facebook and to a
lesser extent Twitter, increasingly gain the epicenter of attention in the
practitioner’s community, in terms of their marketing impact, especially as a
communication tool. In other words, even though the expansion of Facebook is
immense; there is not enough academic research on its impact to companies and
particularly to the tourist industry. More specifically, it would be
interesting to investigate how the use of Facebook - as an aspect of social
media - can have a certain impact on tourism consumer behaviour in general and
decision making process in particular. The aim of this paper is to point out
how social media tools - like Facebook Fan Pages could actually have an impact
to the tourism consumer behaviour, which ultimately will lead to the final
selection of the service offered by Greek Bus Operators (GBOs). Through social
media marketing, GBOs can achieve maximum customer engagement, which in turn
can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Thus, customer engagement and
relationship marketing ultimately turns customers into “fans” of the product.
Consecutively, the total tourist consumer behaviour changes, which in turn
leads GBOs to use social media marketing for their own competitive advantage,
in comparison with other tourism operators.
1.1.BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:
The emergence of Web 2.0, allows one with
unlimited amount of things the individual can do on the internet these days.
The individual is not just restricted to emails or passively absorbing the
static information that is available on the web pages when browsing. It used to
be one-way but now the web is the platform where people can share information,
hold a decent dialogue, build both social and business connections.
Social media has recently been adopted by
a small group of organizations’ integrated marketing plans. There by infusing a
mix of advertisement, public relations, their sales promotion to produce a
customer focused message. With the evolution of platforms such as LinkedIn,
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we have the opportunity for exceptional access
to the guest (Lanz, Fischhof, & Lee, 2010). Since social media is so
available to anyone with an internet connection, it should be a platform that
can be recommended to the tourism industry to increase their brand awareness
and facilitate direct feedback from their customers.
A business that understands the advantage
of social media is well aware that social media is essential in developing new
business in the current competitive and online driven marketplace.
Marketing is an important aspect for any
company involved in business. As such, it is a competitive world out there, and
social media marketing is the ‘new kid in town’ and it can reach out to the
people accessing these social media platform regularly. Communication is
essential for any corporation and business, therefore either they change the
way information is conveyed or be prepared to lose some of the audience. It is
imperative for marketing managers to continuously find a solution to appeal,
keep new and current consumers (Schneider, 2009). Social network is the ideal
platform for communication that applies perfectly with marketing in the virtual
world. Social networks are groups of individuals who prefer to communicate with
one another through a preferred site based on the profile created for
themselves (Laudon and Traver, 2007). It is on this note that the background of
this study was formed.
Rivers State was created out of the old
Eastern Region of Nigeria on May 27, 1967 before Bayelsa State was later carved
out of it in 1996. Rivers state, named after the many rivers that border its
territory, was part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 till 1893, when it
became part of the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900 the region was merged with
the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company to form the colony of
Southern Nigeria.
The state has a population of about 5
million people who have a rich and unique cultural heritage. Usually known to
be friendly and hospitable, these people come from various ethnic nationalities
namely; Abua, Andoni, Ekpeye, Engenni, Etche, lbani , lkwerre, Kalabari, Ndoni,
Okrika, Ogoni etc. These ethnic groups have existed together for centuries,
long before the creation of the state and are currently distributed in twenty
three Local Government Areas. Port Harcourt – the state capital is Nigeria’s
second largest commercial and agricultural centre and has the second busiest
seaport in Nigeria.
Covering a total of 11,077km land area,
Rivers State is bounded in the south by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north by
Anambra, Imo and Abia States, in the east by Akwa Ibom state and in the west by
Bayelsa and Delta States. The state is located in the southern part of Nigeria
in which the inland part of Rivers State consists of tropical rainforest,
towards the coast. The typical river delta environment features many mangrove
swamps. The state accounts for more than 40% of the crude oil production in the
country.
Rainfall in Rivers State is seasonal,
variable and heavy. Generally, rain occurs, on the average, every month of the
year, but with varying duration. The state is characterised by high rainfall,
which decreases from south to north. Total annual rainfall decreases from about
4,700 mm on the coast to about 1,700 mm in extreme north of the state. It is
4,698 mm at Bonny along the coast and 1,862 mm at Deqema. For Port Harcourt,
the rainy days are about 182 with mean maximum monthly temperatures that range
from 28°C to 33°C, while the mean minimum monthly temperatures are in the range
of 17°C to 24°C. The mean monthly temperature is in the range of 25°C to 28°C.
The mean annual temperature for the state is 26°C. The hottest months are
February to May. The difference between the dry season and wet season
temperatures is only about 2°C. Relative humidity is high in the State
throughout the year and decreases slightly in the dry season.
1.3.STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM:
The tourism industry tends to be very
customer-centric and also one that prides itself by reaching out to its guests
and providing a personalized experience. In traditional marketing, our lives
are saturated by print media, radio and television. The downside of traditional
marketing is the high cost and it is a one-way communication. Social media
encourages customer engagement, and it being on Web 2.0, promotes two-way
traffic. It allows for a faster response and a low cost investment than is
typically achieved with traditional marketing.
1.4.OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
1.To draw immediate attention to Tourism
development in Rivers State.
2.To provide leisure and recreational
faculties in the Local Government area of the State that will attract tourist.
3.To reawaken interest and active
participation of all stakeholders in the development of Rivers State Culture
towards economic well-being of the people this will directly and indirectly
attract tourist.
4.To identity the Cultural diversity and
heritage of the state for proper management and utilization.
5.To regulate, categorize, standardize and
control tourisms, restaurants, fast foods, travel agencies, four operators and
other tourism related enterprises.
6.To explore means of utilizing the mass
media to boost and advertise the few tourist centres in Rivers state to the
world and provide a user friendly web page where tourist can make their
enquiries and bookings
1.5.SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
Currently the hype surrounding social
media strategies for marketing is on the increase, but tourism industry is
still trying to cope and see the advantage from the latest trends on the
internet. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter is growing daily.
Challenges faced by tourisms is the ‘how to’ engage the consumers and to lead
them towards becoming a guest or share their experience for the tourism within
their virtual network. For the past decades, the Internet has gradually changed
to a stage where the search engines takes control of website traffic
.Therefore, businesses that jumped onto the social media wagon earlier see the
pay off , as they have established their relationships and viral networks
(Walsh, 2010).
The research conducted in this manuscript
will attempt to give an insight to the tourism industry on the effects of
social media, furthermore to establish if social media is effective and
recommended, and if so, provide an insight and proposition for adopting social
media as a platform for marketing purpose.
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