Assessment of the Internet as Tool for Tourism Marketing in Nigeria (Published)
The study was an assessment of the internet as a tool for tourism marketing in Cross River State. The study sought to determine the significant relationship between website and tourism product awareness; and also evaluate the extent social media marketing affect the level of patronage of tourism products in Cross River State. The area of study was Cross River State, while the study frame were tourism stakeholders, tourism managers/staff and both local and international tourists found in the twelve (12) tourism destinations selected for this study. The sample size of the study was 120 and primary data were obtained using a structured questionnaire. The instrument was content-validated, while the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was used to confirm the reliability. Data analysis was done electronically by the use of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. Among the findings were that the website marketing did not have any significant relationship on the level of awareness of tourism products in Cross River State. Also, social media marketing did not significantly affect the level of patronage of tourism products in Cross River State. It is then recommended that the website and other internet tools should be efficiently handled preferably by experts to generate and maintain interest and level of patronage of Cross River State’s tourism products.
Keywords: Internet Marketing, Patronage, Social Media Marketing, Tourism Marketing., Tourism Product Awareness, Website Marketing