DETERMINANTS OF CUSTOMER’S SATISFACTION IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY (A STUDY OF AWHUM WATER FALL, ENUGU STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.9 Background of the Study

Tourism is a socio-economic phenomenon comprised of the activities and experiences of tourists and visitors away from their home environment, serviced by the travel and tourism industry and host destinations. The sum total of this activity, experience and services can be seen as the tourism product. 

Tourism product is a combination of services, commodities and other material and immaterial items including the whole travel experience from leaving home to return individual experience, impressions and things learned and enjoyed at a destination. In general business, products are goods or services which are bought and sold in the market. A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, or use, or something that can satisfy a need or want. Therefore, a product can be a physical good, a service, a retail store, a person, an organization, a place or even an idea. Products are the means to an end wherein the end is the satisfaction of customer needs or wants (Kotler and Armstrong, 2014).

The product consists of the attractions of destinations and its environment, destination’s services and facilities, destination accessibility, and its imagery perception (Fyall and Garrod, 2005). The tourism product is composed of both tangible and intangible aspects (Rodriguez, 2014) that have benefits and features (Markgraf, 2015). Therefore, the type of tourism products and services offered would influence a customer's choice of tourist destination.

Tourists are the consumers of tourism destinations and tourism products.  Chhetri, Arrowsmith, and Jackson, (2004) explain that tourist experiences stem from a variety of

sensory information found in natural areas. Chhetri et al. (2004) and McCool (2006) define a tourist experience as a social-psychological phenomenon, influenced by expectations tourists carry with them, their standards, a variety of sensory information they receive in a natural area, and the attributes of the area that they encounter during their visit.  The tourist experience offered is one of the key selling features of any tourism product, for a product that does not provide a good tourism experience is considered, at best, tedious (Bresler 2007; Tonge and Moore, 2007).

A tourism destination is a destination that has various products and services to meet visitor needs (Lamsfus, Xiang, Alzua-Sorzabal, and Martin, 2013).A visitor selects a tourist destination based on whether he or she believes the destination has all the desired amenities (Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2013). Therefore, as Lamsfus et al., (2013) stated, most tourists’ perceptions of a destination are a result of information gathered from various travel information boards. To identify one destination over another destination, it is necessary to look at a combination of various components in the destination that can satisfy the traveler’s perception prior, during, and after a trip (Chung, Lee, Lee, and Koo, 2015).

Business managers in developing countries continue to emphasize development and promotion of tourism (Bazneshin, Hosseini, and Azeri, 2015). Altunel and Erkut (2015) argued that providing a superior visitor experience associates with high levels of tourist satisfaction. Additionally, more tourism managers acknowledge how important tourist satisfaction is in today's competitive world to reap economic benefits (Bazneshin et al., 2015).

Tourist satisfaction is assumed as one of the crucial elements for a superior advantage, distinctive image and market destinations successfully, as it influences the choice of destination, consumption of products and services, decide to return, maintain long term relationship and improve destination reputation (Yoon and Uysal, 2005; Zabkar, Brenic, and Dmitrovic, 2010; Osti, Disegnia, and Brida, 2012). Tourist satisfaction is a feeling generated both by cognitive and emotional aspects of tourism activities, as well as an accumulated evaluation of various components and features of the visiting destination (Wang, Zhang, Gu, and Zhen, 2009). It primarily refers to the result of relationship between tourists’ expectations about the destination based on their previous information and image of the destination (pre-travel expectations) and their assessment of the outcome of their experience (post-travel experiences) at the visiting destination (Neal and Gursoy, 2008; Bigne, Sanchez, and Andreau, 2009; McDowall, 2010). Measuring tourist satisfaction provides information about how well a destination matches the tourists’ needs, which may help destination stakeholders to improve quality of products/services that interest tourists (Meng, Tepanon and Uysal, 2008). It also helps tourism authorities and entrepreneurs to identify strategic objectives at the destination level, to prepare tactical and operational plans, and to increase the competitiveness of a given destination (Huang and Xiao, 2000; Hui, Wan, and Ho, 2007; Dmitrovic, Cvelbar, Kolar, Brencic, Ograjenvek, and Zakbar, 2009; Christou and Saveriades, 2010).

Nigeria is a destination with a wide variety of tourist attractions such as extended and roomy river and ocean beaches ideal for swimming and other water sports, unique wildlife, vast tracts of unspoiled nature ranging from tropical forest, magnificent waterfalls, some new rapidly growing cities and climatic conditions in some parts particularly conducive to holidaying. Other attractions include traditional ways of life preserved in local customs; rich and varied handicrafts and other colourful products depicting or illustrative of native arts and lifestyle, and the authentic unsophisticated but friendly attitude of many in the Nigerian population (Aiyamenkhue, 2010). Nigeria lies in the tropical region of West Africa, it is a great country endowed with vast landforms, art and culture, wildlife, rich historical background, natural and mineral resources. It is so endowed that almost every destination has a unique characteristics worthy of inviting travelers. Over the years tourism had developed with the effort of both public and private investors in the industry. Tourists have also been trooping in continuously to engage in different tourism activities at various destinations (Obudu Ranch Resort in Cross River State, Yankari National Park in Bauchi State, Ibeno Beach in Akwa Ibom State, Ogbunike Cave in Anambra State, NOK village in Kaduna State, Birnin Kudu Rock Painting in Jigawa State, Oguta Lake Holiday Complex in Imo State, etc.).  

Service quality is an approach to manage business processes in order to ensure full satisfaction of the customers which will help to increase competitiveness and effectiveness of the industry. Quality in service is very important especially for the growth and development of service sector business enterprises. It works as an antecedent of customer satisfaction.

Service quality is considered as a standard used to assess the effectiveness of a particular leisure service agency, including the tourism service sector (Godbey, 1997 cited in Al-Abneh, 2013), and therefore the quality of service involved with tourism plays an important role in the process of delivery (Wyllie, 2000 cited in Rajaratnam, Munikrishnan, Sharif, and Nair, 2014). Further, the quality of service influenced customers' image that had an effect on the process from expected quality to perceived quality (Lee, Jeon, and Kim, 2011). Customer satisfaction can also be defined as satisfaction based on an outcome or a process (Philemon, 2015).Tourism is arguably one of the largest self-initiated commercial interventions to create happiness on the entire planet (Cave and Brown, 2012). Happiness is directly related to satisfaction, and therefore overall happiness is highly linked to satisfaction in leisure travel sector (Bazneshin, et al., 2015). The majority of tourists have experiences with destinations, and their perceptions are influenced by comparisons among facilities, attractions, and service standards (Hassan and Shahnewaz, 2014).

Although different research brought out different sets of tourism products, there are some main factors considered to be important to have profound impacts on tourists’ choice of destination. They are: destination facilities, destination accessibility destination attraction, price, novelty seeking, natural and cultural environment, safety and security, leisure and entertainment, local cuisine, infrastructure, negative attributes, destination image and tourists’ destination satisfaction.

Tourist destination is the platform from which a variety of tourist experiences can be delivered. Since tourism directly depends on the customer’s experience, collecting and auditing tourists’ experience is vital. A deep understanding of the destination, the market, and the tourists’ experience can help to target the needs, desires, and expectations of a particular market segment. It is on this background that this research work is based, to evaluate the effect of tourist experiences on Tourists’ choice of destination.

1.10 Statement of the Problem

Tourism marketers face increasing competition, innovation, and branding in a dynamic worldwide market, leading destination marketers to adopt innovative strategies to emphasize the destination’s uniqueness and tourists’ satisfaction (Hultman, Skarmeas, Oghazi, and Beheshti, 2015; Rajaratnam et al., 2014). Rajaratnam et al. (2014) proclaimed the importance for destination managers to assess tourist satisfaction to ensure a better understanding of how tourist satisfaction relates to the destination choice. Researchers noted some destination managers are not addressing tourist satisfaction, nor attempting to address consumer dissatisfaction (Batista, Couto, Botelho, and Faias, 2014; Fernandes and Correia, 2013). Pratminingsih, Rudatin, and Rimenta (2014) concluded travel motivation and destination image are fundamental travel behaviors of a visitor in assessing tourist satisfaction.

Since 2011, the tourism industry has experienced some turbulent events resulting in a decrease in the number of travelers (Estrada and Koutronas, 2016; Hajibaba, Gretzel, Leisch, and Dolnicar ,2015; Rahimi, 2016). Despite the turbulent events, more than 1 billion tourists travel internationally, which contributes to tourism making up 9% of the global gross domestic product worldwide (Hsieh and Kung, 2013). The general business problem was that some tourists remain unsatisfied if the destination does not meet their needs, resulting in a competitive disadvantage (Grigaliūnaitė and Pilelienė, 2014). The specific business problem was that some tourism officials and managers do not know whether a relationship exists between destination image, push and pull motives to travel, and tourists’ satisfaction. Nigeria is one of the destinations of the world with abundant tourism resources ranging from waterfalls, cultural festivals, and heritage, religious festivals, beaches, lakes, sporting events, etc. but has not been able to compete favourably with other destinations in Africa and the world in general.

The World Tourism Organization’s master plan for tourism in Nigeria conducted in 2006, reported that marketing approach and activities towards tourism development are underfunded, inadequate and ineffective, the tourist products are not organized and well-packaged for the market place; Nigeria’s tourist attractions are unknown to the international travel trade and the image of Nigeria abroad is very negative and not being addressed. The image of the destination must be well represented and conveyed considering the available packages, accessibility, attraction, amenities, activities and ancillary services in the destination. The lifestyle of the tourists must explicitly be related in attempting to sell the experiences and packages of the destination. Following the country's advancement, Awhum Waterfall tourism has become more essential and offers a wide range of different service packages. The number of domestic and international guests to the two destinations increases every year. Despite the fact that Nigerian’s tourism is having a promising future, tourism industry in Nigeria is still youthful, there are numerous troubles and challenges stood up, adding with furious rivalry from different nations in near area. Whilst there has been significant growth in visitor arrivals in Nigeria, especially in  Awhum Waterfall tourists’ stay tends to be relatively short and the repeat rate of visitors is low as there are limited entertainment and sightseeing options available at tourist destinations. According to Nigeria Tourism Corporation, the return rate of tourist to Nigeria is just 5%, which compared to Kenya, South Africa and Ghana's whopping 50% rate with a whole difference. Poor marketing of services and overall problems with infrastructure, “same-same” package trips and various tourist-targeting scams have kept Nigeria as a one-off destination. Not only that, other issues occurred such as poor transportation system, significant natural contamination because of fast urbanization, food hygiene, low guest security and safety, etc. These reasons make tourist never return to Nigeria for additional time.

Thus, Nigeria tourism needs to overcome these issues to improve its potential. Finding the way to attract tourists and increase their repeat visitation in case of both tourist satisfaction and tourist’s return intention is the most important one.

Pertinent to the above, the study seeks to examine the effect of tourist experiences on Tourists’ choice of destination.

1.3   Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to analyzed the determinants of customer satisfaction on tourism industry in Nigeria (A study of  Awhum Water Fall, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu destinations in Nigeria). Specifically this study seeks to:

i. examine the relationship between facilities offered at destination with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists.

ii. examine the relationship between accessibility of destination with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists.

iii. examine the relationship between destination attractions with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists.

1.4       Research Questions

This study was focus on answering the following questions:

i. What is the level of relationship that exists between facilities offered at destination with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists?

ii. What is the level of relationship that exists between accessibility of destination with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists?

iii. What is the level of relationship that exists between destination attractions with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists?

1.5      Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses was tested for the purpose of the study

i. There is significant relationship between facilities offered at destination with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists.

ii. There is significant relationship between accessibility of destination with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists.

iii. There is significant relationship between destination attractions with that of the overall satisfaction of tourists.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The significance of this research will be viewed from two perspectives-academic and practical.

Practically, the results of this study will have potential value to business practice in that destinations must remain competitive to maintain and increase the income of residents of the community. According to Rajaratnam et al. (2014), tourist satisfaction and the destination attributes influence tourism to the destination. If a tourist’s experience is satisfying, the tourist leaves permanent footprints on the physical, social, cultural, and economic environments of destinations resulting in repeat visitors. Therefore, tourism managers and stakeholders have the responsibility to ensure sustainable tourism in the Nigerian destinations, while ensuring a tourist’s experience is satisfying.

Growth in the number of tourists usually requires the expansion of infrastructure (roads, water supply, hospitals, sewage treatment, and waste disposal) and tourism facilities (accommodations, restaurants, and transportation systems), which are critical factors in the development of tourism in the Nigeria. Tourism development leads to employment opportunities through various tourism sectors such as hotels, boating, and restaurants, which attract migration to the Nigerian destinations. For this reason, the Nigerian destination’s environment should maintain a level of industry high enough to sustain tourism longevity. Van Vuuren and Slabbert (2012) stated that a destination’s environment is a key factor in motivating tourists to visit a destination. However, for tourism managers and stakeholders to implement corrective measures to make the Nigerian destinations a more marketable tourism product, they need to ensure the social and economic growth of the residents of the territory. Understanding what factors may influence tourist satisfaction could increase the Nigerian destination’s competitiveness with other potential destinations in Africa. Most importantly, an increase in the number of tourists equates to an increase in revenue; increased revenue directly contributes to the economic and social enhancement of the residents of the Nigerian destinations.

Academically, this study will help in widening the frontier of knowledge in various ways; it will contribute to the enrichment of literature on tourist experience, destination competitiveness and destination satisfaction. It will also provide comprehensive empirical evidence of the relationships that exists between tourism products at the destination and Tourist choice of destination in Nigeria; and finally, serve as a body of reserved knowledge to be referred to by future researchers.

1.7   Scope of the Study

This research study coved the components customer satisfaction on tourism products. There are many tourist sites and destinations in Nigeria but the study was limited to Awhum Water Fall, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu.

1.8    Limitation of the  study

The major limitations that was faced by the researcher was difficult of convicting the respondents of the filled questionnaires  Enugu.

Financial problem in term of transportation cost of photocopying relevant materials, of material and other accessorily cost.

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