DESTINATION PROMOTION STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (A CASE STUDY OF PORT HARCOURT PLEASURE PARK)

DESTINATION PROMOTION STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (A CASE STUDY OF PORT HARCOURT PLEASURE PARK)

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the effect of destination promotion strategies on customer satisfaction of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park. six objectives of the study, six research questions, and six research hypotheses were formulated for the study. The study was conducted concerning consumer satisfaction of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park tourism facilities; the unit of analysis comprises the visitors of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey of quantitative research design. The population of the study consisted of selected customers met at the park during the researchers’ visit. The study adopted the Freund and William sample size determination technique to determine a sample size of 138 respondents. Data was collected through a close-ended structured questionnaire to elicit and gather data.  Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data of respondents while the standard mean was used for the univariant analysis (respondent’s analysis of the questionnaire). Pearson’s product-moment was used for the bivariate analysis (test of hypotheses). The study showed that there is a positive relationship between advertisement and revisit intention. Also, the findings showed that there is a strong relationship between advertisement and destination loyalty. The study recommended that the Government need to replicate this product in other parts of the state to not to overpressure the facilities. It is also recommended that the managers of the park should invest more funds in creating awareness so that the Tourists will show interest in visiting the destination. 

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CHAPTER ONE

DESTINATION PROMOTION STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (A CASE STUDY OF PORT HARCOURT PLEASURE PARK) 

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study

It is general knowledge that any business that wants to grow must make their customers their top priority. It is not just even enough to prioritize the customer but very important to prioritize their satisfaction. For any business that wants to grow, customer satisfaction must be the focus as it is the bedrock for the survival and performance of any organization. Consumers’ satisfaction is the perceived fulfillment of consumers’ desires after utilizing a company’s product. Such satisfaction may be measured by the degree of direct survey (Sakhaei, Fatemeh, Afshari, Ahmad and Esmaili, Ezzatollah, 2014).

Consumer satisfaction is so important that many organizations allocate a large portion of their resources to pursue this objective. One of the ways to achieve consumer’s satisfaction is through effective marketing strategies which are developed around the identification of consumers’ expectations using such dimensions as a product, price, place, promotion along with organization’s distinctive competence (Shaw, 2012). Virtually everything the marketers do is done with the ultimate aim of getting or attracting potential consumers. Customer satisfaction is total utility enjoyed from a particular product or service by a customer measured against prior encounter of such product or services. Customer satisfaction plays an important role in influencing repeat purchase and word-of-mouth recommendations (Tsao & Hsieh, 2012). According to Oliver (1997), behavioral intention refers to the likelihood to engage in a behavior. When customers are satisfied with their experiences, they are more likely to present positive behavioral intentions and responses, which lead to customer loyalty and patronage (Lam, Chan, Fong, & Lo, 2011). Consumer behavior studies have revealed that tourists exhibit different experiences, satisfaction, and loyalty, depending on their social, demographic, or psychological factors.

Trauer and Ryan (2005) claimed that tourists’ experiences and satisfaction level can significantly differ depending on what kind of service they encountered.

These days, tourists are spoilt with diverse destination options and this has led to fierce competition among destination developers. Understanding how customers acquire information about destination choice decision is very important. To attract tourists to a destination, there are some awareness programs and infrastructures that appeal to tourists that should be put in place. This is especially true for services, travel and tourism products. Research has demonstrated that tourist’s destination promotion is a valuable concept in understanding destination image and the destination choice process of tourists. Promotional activities of a destination will provide Information that will help a tourist be aware of such a destination and with the rapid advancement in ICT and technologies, tourists are getting too much information about the destination, host community and the security status of the destination site before making a destination decision. Destination promoters are eager to know what these expectations are to satisfy them adequately.

They allocate a huge amount of resources on strategies toward consumers’ satisfaction in other to attract, retain and sustain consumers’ loyalty and increase demands for their products. For instance, most of the tourist behavior models point that destination awareness is an important component in destination performance (Bettman, 1979; Engel, Kollat, et al., 1978; Gursoy and McCleary, 2004; Howard and Sheth, 1969; Mathieson and Wall, 1982; Schmoll, 1977; Um and Crompton, 1990; Woodside and Lysonski, 1989). Many studies have examined the influence of destination promotional activities on tourists’ preferences and intentions (Mayo, 1973; Milman and Pizam, 1995). Furthermore, many studies have centered on the relationship between destination marketing strategies, destination selection, and travel decisions and tourist satisfaction (Baloglu, 2000; Bieger and Laesser, 2004; Capella and Greco, 1987; Chen and Gursoy, 2000; Eagles, 2000; Getz and Sailor, 1993; Gitelson and Crompton, 1983; Goossens, 1994; Gursoy and McCleary, 2004; Mathieson and Wall, 1982; Santos, 1998; Schmoll, 1977; Sirakaya and Woodside, 2005; Um and Crompton, 1990; Wicks and Schuett, 1991, 1993; Woodside and Lysonski, 1989; Woodside et al., 2000; Woodside and Dubelaar, 2002).

According to a study by Gitelson and Crompton, (1983), destination promotion plays an important role in destination marketing as destination marketers need to differentiate their destination in a highly competitive market as tourism (Yilmaz et al., 2009). In this sense, both the traditional and advanced promotional mix (product, price, physical appeal, etc), influence tourist destination choice and satisfaction (Beerli and Martin, 2004; Crompton, 1979; Etzel and Wahlers, 1985). The role of destination promotion in forming destination images is also emphasized in Baloglu (2000); Baloglu and Mangaloglu (2001); Echtner and Ritchie (2003); Gursoy and McCleary (2004); Sönmez and Sirakaya (2002); Um and Crompton (1990) and Woodside and Lysonski (1989). On the other hand, tourists form perception and of cause an alternative destination, so image also emerges as a critical element in the destination choice process and tourist destination satisfaction (Um and Crompton, 1999). This is consistent with the notion that the promotion of attributes of the different destinations forms the basis for different tourist experience expectations.

Private-public partnership (PPP) has over the years evolved different marketing strategies including the traditional marketing mix (product branding and improvement, pricing and price adjustment, placing, packaging, and promotion), market segmentation and penetration, product innovation and distribution, total quality management, market development and expansion, destination growth and corporate social responsibility among others. All these promotional strategies were developed to satisfy the consumers and thereby increase sales and profit.

The level and direction of consumers’ satisfaction may be determined by the extent organization effectively utilize their promotional resources to achieve this objective, in this regard, how has PPP effectively allocated its resources towards consumers’ satisfaction, and to what extent are the consumers satisfied? These are the crucial issues that this study was set-forth to examine. There is a limitation of literature and empirical studies on destination promotion in Nigeria and in Port Harcourt in particular as no study has considered the case of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park. This study, therefore, evaluates the role of destination promotion on tourist satisfaction taking Port Harcourt Pleasure Park as a case study.

• Statement of the Problem

Nigeria has over 700 verified tourists’ potential attractions that if well packaged and promoted can make the country a tourism hub (Godwin, 2002). The Yankari games reserve, the Osun fountain, carnivals, Amusement parks, port Harcourt tourist beach, Opobo park, etc are some of the tourist potentials that have been neglected over the years. This neglect is attributed to the nonchalant attitude of policymakers who have little or no interest in tourism development in the country at large. Other issues affect most tourism destination is the insecurity in Rivers State, as the state is characterized by a high rate of kidnapping, armed robbery, shooting and cultism and to a large extent the negative attitude of the host community also has not helped the prayers of tourism development as tourist safety is one thing every tourist looks out for. These vices portray the State image in a bad light as tourists from the information that will be made available to them via their use of advanced tech tools in sourcing for a destination to visit will develop a negative perception towards the state and the Park. Furthermore, the issue of over independence on oil in Rivers State also has limited the chance of destination development and again the issue of lack of funding, PPP facility maintenance. The problems cited above all hurt the choice of PPP as a destination choice. The manifestations of these problems are that they make the state unsafe for tourists to visit and this transcends to loss of huge revenue and foreign receipts. Finally, another challenge facing the development and promotion of destinations in this part of the country is the inability of the government to extend a hand to the private sector. The private sector partnership will go a long way in developing tourism as their absence/non-inclusion in the developmental plan of tourist destinations is affecting the industry badly.

It is given the challenges and problems that were cited above that this study tends to investigate tourist satisfaction of a destination measured by tourist patronage, Repeat visit intention, destination loyalty, word of mouth recommendation adapted from the work of Sakhaei, S. Fatemeh, Afshari, Ahmad J. and Esmaili, Ezzatollah(2014) through destination promotion with dimensions Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relations, and Direct Marketing adapted from the work of  Evans & Berman, (1994) cited in the work of  Mathenge Peter Miano: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

• Conceptual Framework

The major variables of this study are Destination promotion (independent variable) and consumer satisfaction (dependent variable). The focus of this study was on consumer satisfaction through the use of DP. The researcher operationalized DP in terms of advertising and sales promotion. Consumer behavior was measured in terms of destination patronage, tourist revisit intention and recommendation. For the sake of convenience, the researcher limited the study to five variables taking into consideration that both the independent and dependent variables can be operationalized with more variables.

Sources of Variables for the dimensions to DPS: Dimensions to destination Promotion are Advertising and Sales promotion as adopted from the works of Evans, J. & Berman, B, (1994). Marketing. New York, United States of America: Macmillan

Source of variables for the measures to CS: Sakhaei, S. Fatemeh, Afshari, Ahmad J. and Esmaili, Ezzatollah (2014). The Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Internet Banking. Journal of mathematics and computer science, (9) 33-40

• Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of destination promotion on customer satisfaction in Port Harcourt Pleasure Park. The following Objectives were to;

1. Examine the effect of Advertising on tourist patronage
2. Examine the effect of Advertising on tourist revisit intention
3. Determine the relationship between Advertising and destination loyalty
4. Determine the relationship between Sales promotion and tourist patronage
5. Determine the relationship between Sales promotion and tourist revisit intention
6. Determine the relationship between Sales promotion and tourist destination loyalty

• Research Questions        

The following research questions shall guide the study

1. Does Advertising affect tourist patronage of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park?
2. Does Advertising affect tourist revisit intention in Port Harcourt Pleasure Park?
3. Is there any significant relationship between Advertising and destination loyalty of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park?
4. Is there any significant relationship between Advertising and destination loyalty of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park?
5. What is the relationship between Sales promotion tourist and revisit intention of Port Harcourt pleasure Park?
6. What is the relationship between Sales promotion and tourist destination loyalty of Port Harcourt Pleasure Park?

• Research Hypotheses

The following null hypothetical statement was made in an attempt to answer the research questions

Ho₁ There is no significant relationship between advertising and tourist patronage

H0₂. There is no significant relationship between Advertising and tourist revisit intention

H0₃ There is no significant relationship between Advertising and destination loyalty

H0₄. There is no significant relationship between Sales promotion and tourist patronage

H0₅. There is no significant relationship between Sales promotion and tourist revisit intention

H0₆. There is no significant relationship between Sales promotion and destination loyalty

• Significance of the study

The findings of this study will provide useful information and some insight that will be gained that will help destination promoters and managers and service providers to have a better understanding on how to employ the use of DPS strategy to provide services that will instigate positive guest stay and on how best to wisely use the promotional tools to gain more repeat visit of customers. To governments and tourism firms who want to promote a tourist attraction; this study will expose them to information on how to effectively set promotional activities putting first into consideration the satisfaction of their target tourists.  And to scholars, this study will give them tested information for further study.

• Scope of the Study         

The scope of this study is at three levels;

First is the Content scope which is the variables that are studied (Destination promotion and customer satisfaction). Secondly, the geographical scope which covered the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park. Thirdly the unit of analysis covers all that possess the knowledge of the variable.

• Limitations of the Study

Inadequacy of returned research instrument: this is one dilemma faced by researchers as most times the retuned research instruments are not enough to carry out the research and testing of a variable that are studied

Information inadequacy: this most likely to arise from the inaccessibility to get some information needed to carry out the work and this can be due to some organizational policies when it comes to information sharing.

Respondent’s bias: this could also be a challenge as most respondents do not give real answers to the questions as they feel they should protect their organizations or some personal reasons.

Other limitations may include the wrong statistical tool for analysis, the time factor, and finance. To bridge these limitations and still produce an empirically accepted work, the researcher shall employ the use of data cleaning and filling to make up for places where there are data inadequacy and also reduction in areas where the data are too much or excess.

• Definition of Terms

The following terms used in the study are defined for a proper understanding of the vocabularies in the study

Advocacy: an activity by an individual aimed at influencing the decision within economic systems in the advantage of a particular brand

Customer Satisfaction: the measurement of how a product or service supplied by a company meets or exceeds the customer’s expectation

Revisit intention: the ability or decision of customer wanting to revisit a place or not

• Organization of the Study

This study was organized into five chapters,

Chapter one is the introduction of the study, which covers the background to the study, statement of the problem, research purpose, research problems, and statement of hypotheses, significance, and scope of the study. The contextual definition of some terms used in the study was provided and the chapter ends with the organization of the study and references. Chapter two, the contribution of different authorities were reviewed under the following sub-heading, theoretical and conceptual framework, dimensions and measures to the independent and dependable variable. Chapter three discussed the methodology adopted in the study, these include research design, the population of sampling procedure, research instrument/administration, source(s) of data, the validity of instrument and data analysis technique. In chapter four, Data was presented and analyzed and hypotheses earlier stated in chapter one were also tested. In chapter five the researcher presented a summary, conclusion, and recommendations of the work and area of interest to further enrich the studies were outlined