The Impact of E-Commerce on Brand Awareness and Brand Promotion of the Zimbabwe Tourism and Hospitality Sector

Abstract

This research is on the impact of e-commerce on brand awareness and brand promotion of the Zimbabwe tourism and hospitality sector. The objectives of the research study was to look into the effect of brand awareness and brand promotion of the tourism and hospitality sector of Zimbabwe, challenges the sector is facing in the adoption and implementation of e-commerce and to suggest strategies that the sector can adopt to increase awareness and brand promotion. This research adds to previous research in similar fields, complementing the existing research regarding e-commerce and the tourism and hospitality sector industry whilst also contributing to research for the various industry categories. The study used a mixed method research philosophy where survey research by use of a questionnaire collected the data required from the targeted population. These methods of data collection conspired to provide insights throughout the different topics within the research study area. The researcher used a sample size of 150 respondents. This research finds that hotels, lodges and recreational facility areas are having challenges with the implementation of e-commerce because of attitude of management and owners lack of required skill, lack of capital and finance, availability of internet and its speed which is affecting their brand image, sales and profit. The findings indicate that social media websites, online booking and use of intermediaries are the most applicable cost-effective e-commerce systems that tourism and hospitality sector can adopt and these systems can have a strong positive impact on the brand promotion and also increase its awareness locally, regionally and internationally. These strategies also improve the performance, increase sales, increase bookings and spread information about the services offered by hotels. The research shows that the implementation and adoption of e-commerce has a positive effect on the brand awareness and promotion of the tourism and hospitality sector. The adoption and implementation increases the sales, the revenue, it spreads information about the hotels and recreational facilities in Zimbabwe and also improve the workflow and how day to day activities are handled. However the adoption and implementation of e-commerce is hindered by different issues such as the cost and capital needed to set up the e-commerce system, lack of required skill to implement it, availability of internet and cost of internet. The tourism and hospitality sector need to adopt e-commerce strategies such as running a website, online and internet payment methods, social media advertising, use of online intermediaries, computer reservation systems and global distribution systems. These strategies will help to put the sector on a local, regional and international map and help the sector to compete on an international level.