Effect of Security Perception on Marketing Performance of Selected Tourism Sites in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of security on the marketing performance of selected tourism firms (sites) in South-East and South-South zones of Nigeria. Despite the enormous social and economic contributions of tourism, and the huge tourism resources in Nigeria, the level of marketing performance in the tourism sites has not been encouraging. The specific objectives of the study were to examine effect of security on marketing performance measured as customer patronage, referrals, customer retention and customer satisfaction. Primary data were collected by means questionnaire administered to a sample size of 274 staff and 162 customers (tourists) of the sites. 263 copies of questionnaire for the staff and 157 for the customers (tourists) were retrieved and found usable. The research hypotheses were tested at the 5% level of significance, using Simple Regression Model. The findings revealed that the key construct (independent variable) of security has significant effect on the dependent variables of the study. Consequently, the researcher recommended that the managements of the tourism firms (sites) should ensure improved security in the tourism sites, as the success or failure of any tourism destination will depend on availability of security, among others.