DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ONLINE TOURISM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This project is embarked on to solve the following problems:

1.      Delay in handling enquiries and making bookings, poor customer service and feedback.

2.      Unauthorized access to vital documents and files of the corporation, and displacements of records.

3.      Certain tourist locations and accommodations may be unavailable at certain times and the existing system may fail to communicate these to a customer as a result of unorganized information which may put customers in cases of unplanned expenses or an uncomfortable tour.

The major problems experienced is the poor information flow, delay in handling enquiries, making bookings, and poor customer service and feedback.

These problems make it difficult for customers to book their tour because the current system is inefficient.

Hence, an efficient system is required to eliminate such problems after a structural analysis of the existing system.

1.3       AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to develop an interactive website that helps potential visitors get enough information about the various destinations in Niger state that may ease their tour. It has the following objectives:

o   To explore the problems encountered in the management of the existing manual tourism system

o   To design a web based system that will make information more detailed, effective, and accurate, and ease the delay hitherto encountered with the existing manual system.

o   To implement a web based tourism system that will help people appreciate the state's natural endowment and also serve as a complementary tool for tourism management.

1.4       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study would to a large extent, provide very useful output for a more effective operation of the tourism destinations in Niger state as a whole, it will also complement the efforts of the managers of these tourist centres by, helping them make more accurate judgments and also by providing detailed information accurately to the public for strategic and profitable achievements of the centres.

This research provides an awareness of the problem and prospects of tourism in Niger state to the general public, which will broaden their knowledge, understanding and help them understand the importance of tourism.

The government also has its benefits as the study appraises various governmental guidelines and offers some suggestions for more efficient operations of these resorts.

In summary, this project work will provide a solution to the subject of tourism management, an alternative to the existing manual system and will be readily available to anyone with a device that has a functional browser and access to the internet.

1.5       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this research, design and development dwells only on Minna metropolis and a few prominent tourist destinations surrounding it. This is because, tourism is a broad topic and due to research time restriction, lack of needed research materials and resources, the scope of the study is limited.

1.6       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

In the cause of accomplishing these tasks, obstacles were encountered. Due to the wide scope and discovery of new tourist destinations in the state, it makes it intricate to have the background knowledge of these destinations and most importantly, areas needed for data collection of this study were inaccessible either for security reasons or otherwise. As a result of that, limited source of information was gathered.

Hence this study focuses only on six (8) tourist destinations for this project.

Even with the above constraints, I endeavoured to gather adequate information within my capability to carry out this study accurately so as to ensure objective and meaningful deductions.

1.7       OPERATION DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.      Tourism: The business of providing places for people to visit and activities for them to do.

2.      Tour: Touring process means to visit different environments,

3.      Tourist: A person who travels or visits different places for pleasure or other reasons.

4.      Domestic tourist: A person who leaves his home for another town in the same country

5.      International tourist: A person who leaves his country to visit another country

6.      Systems: A set of things working together as a whole to achieve the same sole objective.

7.      Design: A plan made to show the function of a particular project before it is made. It can be referred to as a prototype of a product or system.

8.      Program: A set of instructions that directs a computer on how to perform particular tasks.

9.      Database: A set of data or information stored in a computer system that is accessible in many ways.

10.  File: A collection of related records.

11.  Information system: A system composed of different components that processes or interprets tourism information.

12.  Booking system: The process of making arrangement so that a space in a hotel, or a particular period which you want to use for touring, is reserved for you.

13.  Booking form: The form which user inputs details needed to make a reservation

14.  Booking receipt: The document which shows that user has successfully made a reservation.

15.  Web browser: It is a software application for retrieving, presenting information resources on the World Wide Web.

16.  URI: The uniform resource identifier, identifies an information resource.

17.  URL: The uniform resource locator is also known as the web address.

18.  Web based information system: It is an information system that uses Internet web technologies to deliver information and services to users or other information systems.

19.  Check IN: This is the process of reporting one's arrival at a place.

20.  Check OUT: This process depicts one's departure from a place