DESTINATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND TOURIST BEHAVIOR IN RIVER STATE

This research explores the relationship between Destination Management Systems (DMS) and tourist behavior in the context of Rivers State, Nigeria, utilizing a mixed research design. A stratified random sample of 500 tourists was surveyed, combining both primary and secondary data sources. Four Likert scale questionnaires were employed to gauge tourist perceptions of DMS features. Quantitative data analysis involved descriptive statistics and inferential techniques, with hypotheses examined using the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (PPMC).The findings indicate a significant correlation between DMS variables, particularly information availability and transaction ease, and consumer behavior among tourists. This suggests that well-implemented DMS strategies positively influence tourist choices and activities. In conclusion, it is recommended that Rivers State adopts effective DMS strategies to enhance tourism viability and competitiveness. To address the issue of personalization, employing DMS experts to develop innovative solutions is crucial. By improving DMS functionality and personalization, Rivers State can better cater to the diverse preferences and needs of tourists, ultimately fostering a more satisfying and memorable tourist experience. This study contributes to the growing body of research on DMS and tourist behavior, providing valuable insights for destination managers and policymakers seeking to optimize their tourism offerings and attract a broader range of visitors to the region

E-MARKETING AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: A STUDY OF SELECTED PORT HARCOURT CITY HOTELS IN RIVERS STATE NIGERIA

This study examined E-Marketing and Organizational Performance in the Hospitality Industry in selected Port Harcourt city hotels. Two (2) hypotheses were tested in the study which adopted the descriptive survey as the working design. The population of this study consisted of selected hotels operating in Port Harcourt city. A size of 161 was determined by using Taro Yamane, (1970) sample size determination technique, while 126 out of the 161 questionnaires were retrieved and used for the study. The Pearson Product Moment Coefficient was used for the hypotheses testing at a significance level of 0.05. Findings from the study showed that there is a positive relationship between E-mail Marketing and Organizational Performance. However, the result showed a strong positive relationship of 0.792. The findings also revealed that there is a significant relationship between Social Media and Organizational Performance. However, the result showed a strong positive relationship of 0.852. The study concluded that those in the service sector especially hotels should embrace E-marketing as an organizational tool for enhancing organizational performance

Developing A Marketing Model To Assist Free State Swine Producers To Maximize Profits

Swine production in the past decades has increased tremendously. The turn of the previous millennium witnessed the agricultural product market changing from a predominantly producer dominated market approach to a demanding, well informed, consumer dominated market. Generally speaking, the agricultural industry had become more industrialized and more specialized. Swine production world over has increased due to technological advancements. Recently, the outbreak of swine fever (H5N1) in most part of the world, including South Africa has caused a lot of panic to the industry. This has led to the decline of swine consumption with a concomitant effect on swine production in most parts of the world, including the Free State Province of South Africa. In view of the aforementioned predicaments, it is then imperative that marketing professionals should come to the aid of swine producers by developing an effective marketing model that will assist them to maximize their profit. Therefore, primary objective of this study was aimed at developing a Marketing Model to assist Free State swine producers to maximize profits. The secondary objectives were: To Formulate the stocking rate to be adopted by swine producers in Free State. To determine the effect of distance to the market/abattoir on transportation cost. To determine to what extent Production cost, affect Gross income of Swine Producers in Free State. To determine to what extent the government agricultural policy affects Gross income of swine producers in Free State. To determine the extent access to bank loan affects Gross income of Swine Producers in Free State. Primary Data and Secondary Data sources were used for data collection in this study, but the overall focal point was with the primary data. The primary objective of this work which was to develop a Marketing Model that will assist Free State swine producers to maximize profit was achieved through the use of Primary Data and Secondary Data sources. The result of the quantitative survey was presented in Frequency Tables, Percentages, Means, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (PPMC), Regression analysis and t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA). For the purpose of this study, the results of the quantitative survey were presented in Frequency Tables, Percentages, Means, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (PPMC), Regression analysis and t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA). Analysis showed that access to government agricultural subsidy does not significantly affect Gross income of Swine Producers in Free State. The tested hypothesis proved that access to bank loan does not significantly affect Gross income of Swine Producers in Free State. Results from this study indicated that Production cost significantly affects Gross income of Swine Producers in Free State

Brand Credibility and Customer Patronage: A Study of Selected Hotels in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between brand credibility and customer patronage of selected hotels in Port Harcourt. The core objective was to evaluate the relationship between trustworthiness and customer patronage, brand image and customer patronage. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey research design and 268 customers of selected hotels were considered the population of the study. The study data was from a primary source of and data was collected with questionnaire which was designed in a well-structured closed ended 4-point Likert scale format and analysis of hypotheses was done with Pearson’s product moment correlation. The findings of the study revealed that trustworthiness has a significant and positive relationship with customer patronage of hotels. The study also revealed brand image to have a positive ans significant relationship with customer patronage. The study therefore recommended that brands should keep to their promises to their customers and also that brand managers should protect their image because a battered brand image will enjoy no patronag

BRAND PERCEPTION AND GUESTS’ PURCHASE INTENTIONS OF HOTELS IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE NIGERIA

This study sought to examine the influence of brand perception on guests’ purchase intention of hotels in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The study was guided by four research questions and it was hypothesised that there is no significant relationship between the dimensions of brand perception (which comprises perceived product quality, price perception, perceived brand awareness and perceived brand image) and purchase intention.  A sample size of one hundred and eleven (111) respondents was drawn from 32 hotels in Port Harcourt using the cluster sampling technique. Pearson Moment Correlation Technique was used in testing the hypotheses at 95% level of confidence. It was found that there is a strong positive and significant relationship between perceived product quality, price perception, and brand image and purchase intention with r score of 0.821, 0.900 and 0.972 respectively. Meanwhile brand awareness was proved to have a moderate relationship with purchase intention with r value of 0.688. It was found that the use of social media marketing strategy is still at its cradle in the hotel industry in Port Harcourt. Consequently, the study recommended that hotel management should  strive to improve the brand image of their hotels by creating multiple marketing strategies that will improve the perception of their target audience about the hotels. It is also imperative for hotel managers to take advantage of social media marketing platforms to create positive awareness and communication with the public. This will help boost their image and ultimately induce guests’ patronage

IMPACT OF RESORT IMAGE ON TOURIST LOYALTY OF SELECTED TOURISM SITES IN RIVERS STATE

This study delves into the intricate relationship between resort image and tourist loyalty, focusing on selected resorts within the tourism hubs of Port Harcourt. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, data was gathered from 361 respondents using the Freund and William sampling technique. Both primary and secondary data sources were tapped into, with primary data collection facilitated through a closed-ended questionnaire utilizing a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics, aided by SPSS version 23.0, were leveraged for data analysis. The study's findings underscore a positive and substantial correlation between resort image and tourist loyalty. This pivotal relationship highlights the significance of a resort's image in shaping visitor loyalty. Consequently, recommendations are made for the improvement of destination security and increased investment in image-building and marketing strategies. By bolstering security measures and enhancing their image, resorts in Port Harcourt can not only retain existing tourist loyalty but also attract new patrons, fostering sustainable growth and success in the competitive tourism landscap

DESTINATION MARKETING AND TOURIST REVISIT INTENTION OF PORT HARCOURT PLEASURE PARK IN POST COVID-19 ERA

The study examined the relationship between destination marketing and tourist revisit intention in Post covid-19 era of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park. Three hypothesised relationships were formulated, with destination image, brand awareness, and fear arousal serving as the dimensions of destination marketing while customer satisfaction was used as a measure of tourist revisit intention. The study adopted descriptive survey research to test the influence of destination marketing on tourist revisit intention at the Pleasure Park with a sample size of 100  determined with Freund and Williams formula for unknown population   The study hypotheses were analysed using Multiple Regression Analysis and the result showed that only destination image had a significant effect on tourist satisfaction at the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park, while the effect of brand awareness and fear arousal was insignificant. The study concluded that a well-developed and implemented destination marketing strategy can improve the satisfaction of tourists at the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park  The researchers recommended that the establishment of a destination marketing organisation will lead to the promotion of the destination image of Port Harcourt

Innovative Leadership and Venture Performance in the Hospitality Industry in Rivers State, Nigeria

The study investigated the relationship between innovative leadership and venture performance in some selected hotels in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the dimension of innovative leadership (idea creation) with three measures of venture performance;   financial performance, non- financial performance and market performance respectively. The population of the study consisted of 675 male and female members of staff of some selected hotels in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, which included both senior and junior staff of firms. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaires. A total of 240 questionnaires were retrieved and analysed. Spearman’s Rank Correlation Statistical tool with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between idea creation and financial performance, non-financial performance and marketing performance of hotels in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The study therefore concluded that the innovative leader should make sure to have as many ideas under development as grains of sand in the desert, in order to ensure that some of the ideas reach the market as innovations. The innovative leader should also reduce the time from idea to invoice, and increase the “payback” in the realization phase.It was thus recommended that innovative leadership should take control over the whole process, from idea generation to commercialization and realization. However, they are expected to employ different external actors in various parts of the process as they take control

PERSONALITY TRAITS AND TOURISM-PRENEURSHIP TENDENCY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT UNDERGRADUATES

This paper examined the relationship between the big five personality traits and tourism-preneurship tendency of undergraduate students of hospitality and tourism management, University of Port Harcourt. The study used a structured questionnaire. Multiple regressions analysis that allows for exploration of the interrelationship among sets of variables were adopted for the analysis of data collected. The researchers carefully screen the data in terms of missing values, influential outliers, normality, and multicollinearity using statistical package for social science (SPSS) software version 23 before proceeding with the analysis. The result shows that there is a positive and significant correlation between the five dimensions of personality traits and tourism-prenueuriship tendency (TPI) in respect to hospitality and tourism management undergraduate students, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria except for openness to experiences. The result further validates the proposed big-five personality traits and tourism-preneurship tendency model for hospitality and tourism management undergraduate students of the University of Port Harcourt. It also confirms contentiousness as making the strongest unique contribution to tourism-preneurship tendency of hospitality and tourism management undergraduate students, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria. This study contributed to the body of knowledge in the tourism domain by authenticating the usage of the big five personality traits for predicting tourism-entrepreneurship tendency of hospitality and tourism management students in an emerging economy. Overall, this research contributes to knowledge of university student’s personality traits and their relations with tourism-entrepreneurship intention. It fills the gap of limited empirical studies on entrepreneurship and tourism management in emerging economies

CUSTOMER PERCEIVED VALUE AND REPURCHASE INTENTIONS IN QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANTS (QSRS) IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The conceptualisation and delivery of memorable experiences to enhance customers’ perceived value capable of promoting customers’ behavioral intentions in the tourism industry have become a source of competitive advantage for tourism service providers such as the Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs). This current study examined the direct effect of customer perceived value on customers’ repurchase intentions in QSRs in the garden city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research gathered data from 150 dinners in QSRs operating in Port Harcourt using a questionnaire with 12 items, in addition to four demographic items.  Two hypotheses were developed and tested in the study and validated with the help of SPSS after data editing, with reliability analysis of the instrument and inferential statistics. The result of the inferential statistical analysis showed that repurchase intention towards the QSRs is driven by customer perceived value (emotional and social value). The study, therefore, concludes that a higher customer perceived value will engender higher repurchase intentions. This places a demand on owners/managers of QSR to develop a marketing strategy that will help them to identify, evaluate and manage customers' experiences in such a manner to enhance the pleasure of customers