Online Marketing Strategies and Market Performance of Registered Tours and Travel Agencies in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2023
Authors
Gakii, Kithinji Annstellah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Kenya's Vision 2030 strives to craft the country into middle-income industrialized country by improving access and strengthening economic development of the tourism industry. However, the market shares of tours and travel agencies in Nairobi city county exhibits a downward trend, necessitating adoption of online marketing strategies to enhance their market performance. The study aimed to investigate the effects of online marketing strategies on market performance of the registered tours and travel agencies in Nairobi city county Kenya. The study specifically investigated the effect of content marketing, search engine optimization, e-mail marketing and online video marketing on market performance. It also established the moderating effect of firm characteristics as well as the mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between online marketing strategies and market performance of registered tours and travel agencies in Nairobi city county Kenya. The study was anchored by unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, innovation diffusion theory and resource-based view theory. The study adopted a positivist philosophy. Both descriptive and explanatory research designs were used. The study used stratified random sampling to choose the sample size from the population. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from a sample of 179 registered tours and travels agencies picked from a population of 324 tours and travel agencies in Nairobi city county, Kenya. The study instrument's validity and reliability were assessed, and the results showed that they were reliable. The data obtained was coded and entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, such as frequencies, mean, percentages, and standard deviation, and presented using tables, and numerical values. Based on the objectives five hypotheses are formulated and were tested at a 95% confidence level using multiple linear regression. The results of regression analysis established that search engine optimization, email marketing and online video marketing had a positive and significant effect on market performance of the registered tours and travel agencies in Nairobi city county, Kenya. However, content marketing strategies had an insignificant effect on market performance of tours and travel agencies in Nairobi, city county Kenya. As a result, the study concludes that content marketing extends beyond content sharing and distribution to include content creation, and therefore tours and travel agencies should focus more on the key characteristics of content, which ultimately made reference to the purchase process and is open to the potential business outcome. The study recommends that tour operators and travel agencies should integrate all available online marketing strategies to make information more accessible to customers. This includes creating relevant content to enhance market entry, using search engine optimization to improve online visibility, leveraging email marketing to personalize messages and increase market penetration, and using online video marketing to boost performance
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Marketing) of Kenyatta University June, 2023
Keywords
Online Marketing Strategies, Market Performance, Registered Tours and Travel Agencies, Nairobi City County, Kenya