European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies ISSN: 2501 - 9988 ISSN-L: 2501 - 9988 Available on-line at: http://www.oapub.org/soc 10.5281/zenodo.58311 Volume 1│Issue 1│2016 TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA Anam, Blessingi Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine how service delivery influence tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State. To achieve this, two hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 100 respondents was accidentally selected for the study. “ structured questionnaire titled Tourism and Service Delivery Questionnaire (TSDQ) was utilized for the study after being subjected to validation by three experts in the relevant field. The reliability was established through split-half and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient method with a coefficient value of 0.88. The independent t-test analysis was adopted in testing the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. From the results of the analysis, the findings revealed that there is significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on accommodation comfort and security services of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made. Keywords: tourism, establishments, accommodation, security, Calabar 1. Introduction Trend of events, has shown that tourism has been found not to be a new phenomenon, because history had it that man has unconsciously engaged in some sort of tourism, right from the ancient age where he wondered through the dark virgin forest in search of light, shelter and food to the renaissance via modern era of clamoring for novelties and fun. However, many years now, tourism has grown in significance and emerged as Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015. 66 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA a global phenomenon, affecting range of environments and attracting new markets as opportunities as travel have widened. Tourism is now one of the hugged revenue generating industries in the world today. Tourism according to Page and Connell (2006) is part of a global process of change and establishments (known as globalization which is no longer confined to the developed countries that traditionally provided the demand for world travel). This as a major economic, political, social and cultural changes, demand is escalating in countries formerly not engaged in international tourism activity such as post-communist countries and in new world regions such as Asia, China and the Indian subcontinent, Nigeria inclusive, (through the eyes of Cross River State). “llen maintained that people s happiness and emotions are associated with leisure and tourism activities which can also be seen to enhance psychological well-being which has been frequently referred to the feeling of happiness or life satisfaction subjectively experienced by individuals who engaged in leisure activities. Also, Barth (2001) stated that people go on leisure activities and holiday trips in tourism site to satisfy one or several of their needs, whatever these needs are, to achieve life s satisfaction, people try to behave in a rational way. They choose activities that they expect will fulfill their needs satisfactorily. This tendency of rational behaviour, illustrates that there are relationship between motives for travelling, choice made and satisfaction. In this vein, Peter (2002) stated that life satisfaction in tourism is created by the comparison of the customers expectation before and after consumption. Obviously, if the performance of the service or product cannot fulfill the expectation, dissatisfaction will appear. Services delivered at the destination is paramount, such include accommodation comfort, menu varieties (feeding), communication, transportation, security, and other hospitality services. Specifically, tourist satisfaction is heated by the comparison of pretravel expectation which is before individual visit an established tourist site and posttravel experiences. In the light of the above statement, Lee (2011) asserted that it has been proven that the satisfied tourists would like to visit the place again and also encourage other tourists to visit due to the satisfaction derive from there by such a tourists, especially in the areas of accommodation and security. Accommodation is important to any tourists who want to travel to another destination or on a trip as you are always going to need a place to stay such as hotels, guest houses, camp sites and caravan parks etc. However, accommodation is split into two parts: the serviced and non-serviced. In this context, the emphasis is on serviced accommodation, where there are maid services such as cleaning rooms, changing and making beds, changing towels and also food and drink are also served to customers. Most tourists experience the extreme luxury and opulence of tourism when European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 67 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA accommodation is of a high standard. Such accommodation can either be informal or private or it may be provided within governments or independently. To this end, Ezeani (2016) stated that tourism accommodation in general can be used as a tool for tourism development. Especially, nowadays that tourism is associated with service industry that embraces business principles like competitiveness, sustainability and many others that will hopefully come up in the proposed generic strategy. At the same token, several scholars regard accommodation as a basic, functional business within the tourism industry. Most tourists experience the extreme luxury and opulence of tourism when accommodation is of a high standard. Such accommodation can either be informal or private or it may be provided within governments or independently. Pizam, Uriely and Riechel (2000) in their study stated that the satisfaction drive can be sustained when there is social relationship between hosts and tourists operators, else this could affect tourists feeling, satisfaction and attitude towards the destination. The study demonstrated that the higher the intensity of the social relationship between host and working tourists, the more positive the change in attitude towards host and the destination. It was also reported that the higher the intensity of positive interaction between host and tourists, the higher the satisfactions of those tourists with their stay and experience. In the same vein, Bocher (2004) submitted that the mutual understanding between cultures can create an opportunity for acquaintance leading towards enhanced understanding and tolerance. Thus, consequently, reduce prejudice, conflict and tension between host and tourists. Tourists may spread their impressions, feelings and attitudes concerning the destinations among their families, friends and colleagues by sharing the travel experience with them due to the positives gotten from the hospitable interaction in such a tourism site. In with ”ocher s submission, Pizam et al research in Israel supported that higher intensity social relationship between hosts and tourists results in higher favourable feelings towards the host, higher satisfaction with the destination experience and more positive change in perceptions of the destination and the host community, particularly for long-term tourists. He further submitted that maintaining an intense social relationship between hosts and guest is critical for sustaining or improving a positive image of the hosts and the destination. It goes without saying that safety and security is clearly linked to inbound tourism well-being to stay in the game . This is especially important in developing regions that suffer from political instability or governmental inefficiency, which can often result in high crime rates and stunted economic development. Political instability, war-related and terrorist activities have long featured as a constraint on the freedom of tourism travel in some part of the world. This posed a great deal challenged for the visitors and the tourism industry as a European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 68 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA whole. This is because security emerged as the strongest factor in terms of degree and magnitude affecting the tourism industry. According to Egbaji (2007), poor security records are bound to fail in developing tourism as a world, with regards to the life of the tourist which is much importance than the tourism destination. It is obviously that political instability and ethnic/religious crises always set in security hazards. According to Ajake in Egbaji (2007), tourism of any sort involves the movement of human beings rather than goods and services of the host destination; with the implication that any social or political unrest or instability, no matter how minor has equivalent negative impact on the tourist trade. According to Landey and Silvers (2004) safety and security are vital to providing quality in tourism more than any other economic activity, because the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for the visitors. Tourism security is not just about putting the law enforcement agents on the streets. According to Kroshus (2003) security has become a complex multi-dimensional notion with a wide range of components belonging to it, such as political security, public safety, health and sanitation, personal data safety, legal protection of tourists, consumer protection, communication, disaster protection, environmental security, getting authentic information, quality assurance of services etc.; he furthered that security has undergone a significant change; from a more or less passive factor to an active element of tourism and imperative to act in order to protect tourist and their belongings as well as the achievement of the industry. Tourism security also includes, making sure that food is safe, that pandemics do not decimate an industry or that a location s reputation is not destroyed by panhandlers or prostitution (Tarlow, 2002). Therefore, issue of security becomes imperative, especially now that our country (Nigeria) is facing the state of insurgency, if the industry must survive. Statement of the problem Tourism is people industry, and the tourists are people, customers and clients, in whom their activities are subject to the normal vagaries of human behaviour (i.e. decisionmaking about what to buy and consume) which are both predictable depending on the situation and context. Tourism experience or product is entirely dependent upon people for its delivery. Also for the fact that tourism is a leisure activity, which involves a discretionary use of time and money, and recreation is often the main purpose for participation in tourism. However the amusement or entertainment is not possible if the place is not secured, therefore safety and security are vital to providing quality in European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 69 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA tourism more than any other economic activity, because the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for the visitors and by extension, the industry. Therefore, issue of security becomes imperative, especially now that our country (Nigeria) is facing the state of insurgency, if the industry must survive. Also accommodation services has been marked as another important driving factor in the tourism industry, this is because it s important to any tourists who want to travel to another destination or on a trip as you are always going to need a place to stay such as hotels, guest houses, camp sites and caravan parks etc., cannot be over emphasized. Moreover, most tourists experience the extreme luxury and opulence of tourism when accommodation is of a high standard. Besides, delivering hospitality and tourism products across international frontiers to discerning customers in highly competitive and dynamic market conditions, presents a range of organizational challenges. Interaction with some tourists revealed that despite the lofty objectives of tourism, the researcher observed that there appears to be some challenges in the areas of service delivery satisfaction which include among others, accommodation comfort, security service, entertainment, transportation, communication, customer relations, etc., with issue of security emerging today as the strongest factor in terms of degree and magnitude affecting the tourism intentions. It is in the light of the above challenges that the researcher decided to determine whether service delivery influence tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis in Cross River State, Nigeria. Statement of Hypotheses 1. There is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on accommodation comfort tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. 2. There is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on security services of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. Methodology In this study, the researchers made use of survey research design which is meant to determine the influence of service delivery on tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. The population of the study consists of the tourists found within the five tourists centres (National Museum and Monument Old Residency Calabar, Marina Resorts, Slave History Museum, Millennium Park and Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort Limited) used for the study in Calabar Metropolis. Accidental sampling European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 70 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA technique was adapted for the selection of 100 respondents used as sample for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire tagged titled Tourism and Service Delivery Questionnaire TSDQ was utilized for the study after being subjected to validation by three experts in the relevant field. The reliability was established through split-half and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient method with a coefficient value of 0.88. Results The independent t-test analysis was adopted in testing the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Hypothesis one The first hypothesis which was stated in the null form that there is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on accommodation comfort of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis is presented on Table 1. Table 1: Independent t-test analysis to determine the difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists accommodation comfort of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis (N=100) Male N x SD 55 18.76 2.06 t-value 4.32* Female 45 16.82 1.99 *Significant at .05, critical t-value =1.96, df =98 The result of the statistical analysis as presented in table 1 showed that the calculated tvalue of 4.32 is greater than the critical t-value of 1.96 at .05 level of significance with 98 degree of freedom. With this result, the null hypothesis was rejected in favour to the alternate hypothesis. This implies that there is significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on accommodation comfort of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. Hypothesis two The second hypothesis which was stated in the null form that there is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on security services of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis is presented on Table 2. European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 71 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA Table 2: Independent t-test analysis to determine the difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on security services of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis (N=100) Male N x SD 50 19.31 2.22 t-value 6.26* Female 50 18.11 1.01 *Significant at .05, critical t-value =1.96, df =98 The result of the statistical analysis as presented in table 2 revealed that the calculated tvalue of 6.26 is greater than the critical t-value of 1.96 at .05 level of significance with 98 degree of freedom. With this result, the null hypothesis was rejected in favour to alternative hypothesis. This implies that there is difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on security services of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. Discussion The result of hypothesis one revealed that accommodation comfort significantly influence tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. Accommodation is important to any tourists who want to travel to another destination or on a trip as you are always going to need a place to stay such as hotels, guest houses, camp sites and caravan parks etc. Most especially tourists experience the extreme luxury and opulence of tourism when accommodation is of a high standard. The finding therefore, is in agreement with the view of Ezeani (2016) who stated that tourism accommodation in general can be used as a tool for tourism development. Peter (2002) in the same vein noted that life satisfaction in tourism is created by the comparison of customers expectation before and after consumption, these include quality accommodation services. Obviously, if the performance of the service or product cannot fulfill the expectation, dissatisfaction will appear. The second hypothesis revealed that security services significantly influenced tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. The finding is in line with the views of Pizam et al (2000) who observed that, the social relationship between hosts and working tourists could affect tourists feeling satisfaction and attitude towards the destination. This study demonstrated that the higher the intensity of the social relationship between host and working tourists, the more positive the change in attitude towards host and the destination. It also reported that the higher the intensity of positive interaction European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 72 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA between host and tourists, the higher the satisfaction of those tourists with their stay and experience. Bocher (2004) also asserted that mutual understanding between cultures can create an opportunity for acquaintance leading towards enhanced understanding and tolerance; Consequently reduce prejudice, conflict and tension between host and tourists, may drive tourists to spread their impressions, feelings and attitudes concerning the destinations among their families, friends and colleagues by sharing the travelling experience with them due to the positives gotten from the hospitable interaction in such a tourism site. Therefore, tourism surety is a highly professionalized plan that permits the protection of everything from sites to the visitors, as well the community s very reputation. Therefore, the finding of the study is in consonance with Knight (1999) who stated that security emerged as the strongest factor in terms of degree and magnitude affecting the tourism intention. Also that the security issue is significant as people go for tourism to seek pleasure and amusement, these is not possible if the place is not secured. Also in line with the finding of the study, Landey and Silvers (2004) submitted that safety and security are vital to providing quality in tourism, more than other economic activity since the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for visitors. Conclusion It was concluded based on the finding of the study that: 1. There is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on accommodation comfort of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. 2. There is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female tourists on security services of tourism establishments in Calabar Metropolis. Recommendations Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations are made: 1. The government of Cross River State as the main stakeholder of tourism in the state, should ensure that all accommodation facilities in the various tourism centers are of standard and up-to-date with the necessary gargets to provide comfort and satisfaction to the tourists, but considering such that can offer different customer needs. European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2016 73 Anam, Blessing – TOURISM AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA 2. In other to gain and sustain positive interaction atmosphere between the visitors and the local populace, government should collaborate with the locals by providing employment opportunities at their levels, as well as organize periodic enlightenment talk on the important of hospitality to further create a communal atmosphere between the host community and the visitors. 3. The issues of security is not solely the responsibility of the government, it is therefore in the industry s own interest to coordinate its efforts and cooperate fully with other main partners, such as the law enforcement agencies and the wider community to ensure safety and secured environment for the tourists and for the survival of the establishments. References Allen, E. C. (2011). Leisure spectrum in tourism industry. New York: Longman scientific and technical. ”arth, D. J. . Satisfying customers in the hospitality industry: Meaning and measurement . Hospitality Research Journal. -70. Bocher, S. (2004). 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