Internet marketing adoption and the performance of tour operators in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Tourism, being essentially a network and global business, stands to be highly influenced by the characteristics and rules of the new economy that have emerged from the revolution of Information Technology (IT). This includes digital networking and communication infrastructures, fax machines, cellular phones, personal computers, Internet among others. This has led to the growing importance of digital products and of information as an integral part of economic activities .The researcher used the descriptive survey research design. The population of this study was all tour operators running their operations from Nairobi and are registered under the umbrella body Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO). The study was conducted among 30 of the tour operators in Nairobi, selected through purposive sampling. They were selected from each of the categories as grouped by KATO. There are five categories, therefore six tour operators were chosen from each. Primary data was collected for the purpose of this study. This was done using a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire available in the appendix. The data collected was edited for accuracy, consistency and completeness and arranged to enable coding using SPSS version 17 and tabulation before final analysis. The study concludes that the initial cost of developing a website and maintenance is too high for tour companies; that employees in the organisations were all computer literate; that using internet to market fits well with the way respondents liked to work; that the organization has supported adoption of internet marketing and this will provide access to global consumer markets as well as growing the market share. The study recommends that Financial institutions should make credit facilities available to tour firms as the initial cost of developing website is too high for them; employees in the organisations should be trained on the use of computers to avoid computer illiteracy; Senior management of the firm should be helpful in the use of internet marketing, this could be through allocation of funds during budgeting.