Places Nigeria -

Why is the country with the second best economy in Africa not considered as one of the top tourism destinations in Africa despite its potentials and opportunities? This question is one that has occupied the minds of many Nigerians and tourism organisations. Nigeria has been dependent on the oil sector since its independence in 1960 and still not as developed as it is expected to be. Only recently has the Tourism been recognised as a strategic venture to boost the economy as well as reduce poverty. However, it is important to identify what products and services are available to attract the domestic and international market.

Tourism is a major sector of the global day to day activities; merging businesses, cultures and the global economy. With the increasing trend in tourism development and promotion in several countries, it is imperative for destination marketing organisations to lay emphasis on efficient marketing strategies in order to gain competitive advantage in the industry. According to Williams (2006; 482), ‘the marketing of tourism and hospitality products has become increasing complex; being associated not only with conveying an image of a place, but with attempting to sell an experience of a place through relating it to the lifestyle construct of the consumers’. This implies that marketing in hospitality and tourism industry does not only involve selling products or services but also selling and experience desired by certain consumers or customers.

Tourism seems relevant for most countries in recent times for several reasons. There is a growing awareness of the use of tourism as a tool for eliminating poverty and promoting economic development in developing countries. However, it is not practical for developing countries only; developed countries are also involved in tourism for other reasons besides being a tool to increase the GDP of the country of which image and identity are included. World Bank report 1991; 4 states that :

‘development is not merely a rise in the per capita incomes. It subsumes reduction of poverty and greater equity to progress in education, health and nutrition, and the protection of the environment’

 (Sindiga, 1991; 1).

With the growing competition in the industry, organisational excellence is imperative for competitive and comparative advantage. According to Charles et al, ‘The requirement for tourism destinations to deliver high quality service and products, coupled with the labour intensive nature of the industry, results in a need for the tourism sector to recruit and retain well-educated and well-trained professionals’ (Dewhurst et al, 2007)

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

Tourism is believed to be one of the fastest growing industries in recent times. ‘Tourism and hospitality has developed into one of the most important global economic activities, due in part to a combination of a transformation of offers and increasingly post-modern demand (Williams, 2006; 483). Though the existence of tourism could be traced back to ancient times as disclosed by Swarbrooke and Horner (2007), its concept is diversifying as it encompasses a wider range of industries. It could be assumed that every country has unique features which could be used in promoting tourism. This could be in form of culture, business, nature, wildlife, education, sports, or sometimes the weather which put together becomes an experience for the tourist. According to Williams (2006; 485),

‘experiential marketing is about taking the essence of a product and amplifying it into a set of tangible, physical, interactive experiences which reinforce the offer’.

It is evident however, that tourism encompasses of a wide range of denotations, activities and facets of life. This may be due to strong relationship between travel and tourism. According to Sindiga (1999), travel and tourism are known to be the largest industry in terms of the number of people participating, the amount of resources generated and employment capacity. There may be some truth in this; however, it is interesting that certain countries possess these factors yet struggle with promoting tourism such as the case study country- Nigeria. This research will identify several tourism related variables and it significance to Nigeria as a destination. Prior to subsequent discussion, it is crucial to understand the definition and concept of tourism.

Tourism basically involves moving from one location to another for different purposes which may include business, visit friend and relative (VFR), adventure, leisure, religion, educational, nature and wildlife. Sindiga (1999; 10) argues that tourism has different meanings to different individuals or organisations: ‘to the government, tourism means economic activities, revenues, employment, per capita expenditure and perhaps regional development’; to the tourism industry it may mean promotion, arrivals, departures, length of stay, and receipts.

The visit friend and relative segment is known to be one of the strongest inbound tourism segments for Nigeria (Mintel 3, 2007). It is stated that most of the arrivals in Nigeria are Nigerian Diaspora that travel into the country to visit friends and relative. However, Backer (2007) argues that this is one tourism segment whose value and size has been underestimated as a result of perceptions that these tourists spend less disregarding the expenditure incurred by the VFR hosts. Furthermore, it is important is acknowledge the fact that there are VFR tourists that also use hotel accommodation facilities as well as tourism facilities

Tourism could exist for the domestic or international market. The domestic market comprises of people visiting a destination within a particular country while international market comprises of people that visit another country. It is essential however to acknowledge the WTO definition of a domestic tourist which is:

Any person residing within a country, irrespective of nationality, travelling to a place within this country other than his usual residence for a period of not less than 24 hours or one night for a purpose other than the exercise of a remunerated activity      in the place visited. The motives for such travel may be:

1. Leisure (recreation, holidays, health, studies, religion, sports)

2. Businesses, family, mission, meeting

(Adapted from Dieke, 2000; 279)

Though it appears in most cases that the international market is more important than the domestic market, both markets are however significant for tourism development and sustainability. International tourists as it is believed may contribute immensely in increasing the GDP of the country but domestic tourists are obviously known to be more sustainable. This research will focus on the development of domestic tourism in Nigeria for purposes of sustainability; conversely, it will also identify certain issues that have affected the image of Nigeria as will be discussed further into this research and how proper management could promote both domestic and international tourism.

Like many other products and services, tourism which comprises of both products and services require marketing. Destination marketing organisations are responsible for marketing destinations to the domestic and global market. Though this research will not concern itself with the daily and routine activities of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) which is the official destination marketing organisation of Nigeria, it would throw light on certain marketing strategies carried out recently by the organisation in the last year. The NTDC is a government unit that does not only market the country locally and internationally but also supervises the activities of private tourism organisations and practitioners (Kevin Millington, 2007) .Only in 2006 has meaningful steps been taken towards promoting the country’s tourism industry as it has recently received a tourism master plan and sponsorship from the UNDP and technical assistance from UNWTO (Kevin Millington, 2007).

The plan targets diverse categories of tourists, such as new experience seekers, African immigrants, ‘the expatriate community and families on holiday. According to report, the plan ‘focuses on five main strategies for boosting tourism based on the following themes: tropical rainforest (eco-tourism), conference capital (business tourism), Atlantic gateway (beach and water-based tourism), scenic nature (touring holidays) and Sahara gateway (desert tourism)’, (Kevin Millington, 2007). Therefore, the tourism activities that have been implemented in the last year are discussed further into this research.

Furthermore, the WTTC 1 travel and tourism economic research (2007) reveals that the total demand of Nigerian tourism has a market share of 0.1% in the world’s tourism industry with least intensive and slow growing travel and tourism economy. It also predicted a 2% growth in the tourism and trade industry in the next ten years. It is however, disappointing that the ’second best economy in the Sub Sahara region after South Africa’       (CBN annual report, 2005; 35) is struggling in developing tourism and has created such a negative image of itself. Though the Country’s image is daunting, the Director General of NTDC has argues that Nigeria ‘remains the preferred tourism destination in the continent’ (Babatunde, Jimoh 1, 2007) implying that at some point, Nigeria was a preferred destination in Africa. Nigeria like many other countries is a country rich in culture, wildlife and nature but is also seen as a country with great potentials. Therefore, it is evident that there is a difference between the image and the identity of the country as it is uncertain what the country’s brand is. According to Pike (2004; 74), ‘brand must stand for image when the consumer thinks about it and identity for producer’.

1.2       AIM OF RESEARCH

For academic and commercial purposes, this research will aim to explore the potentials of Nigeria as a sustainable tourism destination and contribute to the inadequate information on Nigerian tourism industry. Although the image of Nigeria is daunted, it is obvious that the UNDP as well as UNWTO consider the country as one that has good potentials for tourism. Nigeria as many other countries has had its own share of crises; however, its image is seen to be a strong influence over the general development of industries in the country as well as its relationship with other countries.

This research seeks to determine what tourism segments could be promoted in this complex society domestically and internationally. Due to the insufficient data on the Nigerian hospitality and tourism industry as well as the gap between trends of tourism and consumer behaviour in Nigeria, this research will attempt to contribute to the existing data in order to increase the awareness and the potentials of Nigeria as a destination. Furthermore, this research seeks to stimulate and challenge other interested researchers to delve into this emerging market and as a result could provide academic and commercial information that could benefit the global market.

1.3       OBJECTIVES

This research includes the following objectives

• Identifying the challenges faced in the Nigerian hospitality and tourism industry
• To determine the strongest tourism segment in Nigeria for domestic and international markets
• To determine the factors that influences the choices and behaviours of Nigerians regarding tourism activities
• Analysing the current tourism environment in Nigeria in order to contribute and make possible recommendations that could be used to gain competitive advantage in African tourism

• 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Due to the nature of the research, the case study approach was preferred as it could involve ‘any mix of qualitative and quantitative evidence’ (Yin, 2003; 15). These objectives will be achieved using social science research methodology and methods. For purpose of validity and reliability, triangulation is necessary. According to Lancaster (2005; 78), triangulation is ‘the process whereby several methods of research and data collection are used such that the findings from one type of study can be checked against the findings derived from another type’. In this concept, this will involve methods such as interviews, questionnaires and analysing of existing secondary data on Nigerian hospitality and tourism industry. Questionnaires were administered via email and interviews were via telephone as well as face-to-face interviews. These secondary sources provided relevant information which formed a basis for constructing the questionnaire. The secondary sources included academic journal, newspapers, books, internet, and news from television. It is interesting however, that the internet provided the largest amount of existing data due to the low level of recognition and research of the Nigerian tourism industry as well as the distance away from the country.

The choice of methods of data collection could be based on factors such as objectives and purpose of research, researcher’s skills and expertise, costs and budgets, time, availability of data, consultants’ preferences and values, clients’ preferences and values and finally, ethical and legal issues (Lancaster, 2005). In this case, these methods were chosen due to influence from factors such as proximity, time availability, data availability and budget. However, each method had its challenges though the aim of the research was still achieved. These challenges will be discussed further in chapter 3 under the research methodology.

1.5       DATA ANALYSIS

Due to the relatively simple nature of this research, the analysis did not require SPSS analysis which is usually used for social science research. ‘The abbreviation SPSS stands for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences‘ (Bryman and Cramer, 1999; 16). This research utilised data analysis techniques such as tally frequency, content analysis, and descriptive analysis highlighting major tourism segments, tourism challenges, motivator, determinant and certain relationship marketing strategies which exist in the country.

• 1.6 CONCLUSION

Nigeria undoubtedly has potentials to become one of the top destinations in Africa and this is feasibility with proper proactive management strategies are implemented. The difference between its image and identity must however be reduced and consistent marketing and development is required to convince the global market that it is a safe and exciting destination.