A survey of e-marketing practices in the tourism industry in Kenya: a case of tourist firms in Nairobi

Abstract

The impact of the new technology is far reaching and its invention has revolutionalised the way companies are marketing their products and the tourism industry is no exception. This study was done with the objective of determining the extent to which use of internet marketing is being practiced in the tourism industry in Kenya and to establish the benefits and the problems experienced in using the internet as marketing tool. To this end, primary data was collected by means of survey questionnaire using both closed and open-ended questions and were given to the managers of Tour Operators in Nairobi who are in charge of marketing tourism. The response rate was 70% (42/60). The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Analysis of the data revealed that all the firms were using the internet to market themselves especially because majority of the firms did not have offices abroad and were hence using foreign agents and the internet to market their products. The extent to which the internet is being used in marketing is to a moderate extent, though some of the marketing activities are done to a very large extent and a few others to no extenf at all. The study revealed that internet is to a moderate extent used as a marketing information systems tool and as a target marketing tool. In the marketing mix, the internet is used to a large extent in that all firms communicate their products in a number of ways such as, product demonstrations using short previews on their websites and allowing tourists to select a tour package of their choice. Prices are also displayed and negotiations can be done online. However, advertising is only done to a small extent and the only promotional tool used to a large extent is the display of offers and discounts. The results also showed that all the tourist firms enjoy the benefits of internet as a marketing tool and only experience a few problems such as lack of government support and the inefficiencies of the internet service providers