1.1 Background of the Study
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. It plays an important part in nation’s economy by producing the opportunities for employment, continuously to the balance of payment and helping in economic growth. Tourism is a multidimensional, multifaceted activity which touches many lives and many business activities (Adewunmi, 2019).
The application of the use of computer in almost all facet of human endeavor cannot be over stressed. Since the introduction of microcomputer, the world of office automation has changed and will continue to be changing with modernization made to the present ones. The application of computer will make tourism centers in Anambra State to be more accurate, easy to retrieve data, efficient, and secured (Pecham, 2018).
Tourism is a manifestation of movement from one place to another. Transportation makes the existence of tourism; transportation produces the possibility for most of these movements in order words transport is an integral part of tourism and conveyor of tourists to different tourist destinations and the activities. Logically, the more accessible tourist resources are the more it is able to attract tourists. There are major models of transportation associated with international tourist movement such as the air transports, train (railways), and automobile (Okoli, 2019).
In a simple term, tourism can be defined as traveling for pleasure, recreation or relaxation. Because of the momenta impact of tourism on the global economy. The contemporary definition of tourism higher premium on the transfer of financial resources from the tourists abode to his destination than the purpose of the travel. A tourist therefore can engage in any activity like sports, cultural appreciation, relaxation, religious rejuvenation, business and participation in a conference, to mention but a few. When a tourist leaves his home town for another location in the same country he is classified as a domestic tourist. If he crosses the frontiers of his country, he becomes an international tourist (Singh, 2019).
The important of this definition of tourism is that the thousands of the state citizens residing in various parts of Nigeria who troop home with their annual saving during Christmas, and return to their station with near – empty wallets in week are domestic tourist. For a country to be counted as a successful tourist destination it has to record a seasonable blend between domestic and international tourism. Countries as large as Nigeria usually have more domestic than international tourist (Chukwudi, 2018).
According to Singh (2019) travel and tourism is now the biggest single industry, employing more than 12million people and producing nearly 100m per year in taxes. It counts for between 25 and 30 percent of world trades in services, travel opportunities can enhance the quality of the human experience in spiritual and national particulars.
Nigeria is endowed with inverse natural resources relative to the nations in Africa and even in a global level. A stock of Nigerians vast tourism resources includes peculiar geomorphologic features, historical movement rachis, wild life and game reserves have aptly described Nigeria as a land of contrast. The state has been described as a state richly endowed with natural resources of enormous tourism potential which if fully exploited and well managed are capable of becoming the states with alternative source. A stock of Anambra States tourism resources include the natural lakes that abound across the state as exemplified by Oguta Lake, the range of hills around Okigwe and environments that can encourage the mind building exercise of mountaineering particularly among the youths. The network of rivers and streams with their sand beaches that are common features in Obowo district, exciting landmarks at Owerri, the botanical garden and 300 at Nekede near Owerri, and other numerous sites of tourist attraction (Ambo, 2019).
Tourism industry in Anambra state also include hotels and holiday resort in both stock and quality. Recreational facilities for sports and recreation and amusements, monument, historic relics, artifacts and natural sceneries are located in cities and villages across the state. A number of tradition festivals are organized in Anambra state yearly. Some of which are of international dimension, namely the canoe regatta in riverine areas traditional wrestling contests which is fast regaining popularity. The Ozuruimo cultural festival, the Mmanwu festival in Igboland, Iri ji festival and a host of others. These entire enormous tourism heritages can be packaged as an item of international trade through effective marketing strategies and Anambra state can launch herself into the fire front of both as a tour destination and helping state to generate foreign exchange. It is basically the aim of this study to examine the Oguta lake Holiday Resort as a tourist center, identifying the problems it encounters and exploring some of the possible benefits that may accrue to state if properly managed (Ambo, 2019).
The Oguta lake holiday resort was conceived in 1973 by the East central State Government when it discovered that the lakes with its surroundings are favorable for the development of tourism. The Golden Tulip Agulu Lake Holiday Resort is situated in Anambra State. In 1977, the motel was brought under the management of Anambra Hotels Awka (Adejunwa, 2019). It consists of some bungalows; each bungalow contains fifteen chalets that needs to be well managed. There as gift course within the immediate vicinity of the hotel. It was eighty staff on a role fifteen senior staff, twenty intermediate staff and forty-five junior staff. The motel also has thirty-one double suites which are expensive furnished and suits. It could be easily converted into single suits. It also engage in outdoor catering and laundering services that needs to be well managed by the management and offers recreational facilities such as Lawn tennis and gift course. Varieties of drinks and beverages are also available (Adejunwa, 2019).
Other facilities of Oguta lake Holiday Resort include:
Also one of the famous Ojukwu Bunkers is housed in the Oguta lake Golf course premises.
Some of the problems includes:
The objective of this study is to design and implement an integrated tourism multimedia system
Some of the objectives include the following:
1.4 Significance of the Study
The essence of undertaking any project work is to solve an educational problem, bearing this in mind; the study is geared towards the following;
1.5 Scope of the Study
Every project is carried out to achieve a set of goals with some conditions keeping in mind that it should be easy to use, feasible and user friendly. As the goal of this project is to develop an application to manage tourism centres efficiently, this system will be designed keeping in mind the conditions (easy to use, feasibility and user friendly) stated above. The proposed project would cover: Developing a software to effectively manage tourism centres and implementing it on a computer system that will facilitate information and rendering services in Anambra State tourism board. This design will be of a greater use both in the projection service and documentation.
1.6 Limitations of Study
In the course of carrying out this research work a number of problems were encountered.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Address: This bills to address, it is where we send customers document.
Analyst: This is a person or professional who studies the problem encountered by a system and creates means of solving them by introducing a better system.
Attraction: It is a physical or cultural feature of a place that can satisfy tourists’ leisure based need.
Automation: Automation is the use of various control systems for operating equipment or applications with minimal or reduced human intervention.
Business telephone number: This is a telephone number in the business place.
Code: It is a written guideline that helps to determine whether a specific action is ethical or unethical.
Computer: Computer is an electronic device operating the control of instructions stored in its memory that can accept data (input) manipulate the data according to a specified rules (processing) produces result output and stores the result for future use.
Cultural Heritage: It is an expression of the manner of living developed by a community and passed on from one generation to the next. It includes customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values.
Customer: This is a tourism business system customer.
Data processing: This is defined as the entire process of converting or manipulating data into definite meaningful information (Adigwe, & Okoye, 2019).
Data: It is the facts collected for decision making they are facts that are kept to be processed to get more information.
Database Management System (DBMS): It is software which controls the flow of data and checks on how data are stored.
Database: This is an organized /unique collection of related files. It is a collection of schemas, tables, queries, reports, views and other object.
Design: This is the art or process of designing how something will look, work.
Destination: It is a place the tourist visits and stays there for at least 24 hours. The destination supports staying facilities, attractions, and tourist resources.
Documentation: This is a material that provides official information or evidence that serves as record; written specifications and information that describes the product.
Domestic tourist: This is a person or an individual who leaves his home for another location in same country.
Ecotourism: It involves maintenance and enhancement of natural systems such as water, air, woods and forests, and flora and fauna through tourism.
Information: This is a processed data that can be read and understand.
Input: It is a set of data sent to the computer processing.
International tourist: This is regarded as a person or an individual who leaves his country to another country.
Leisure: It is the free time when obligations are at a minimum and one can relax.
Management Information System (MIS): Information system that generates accurate timely and organized information so that manager and other user can make decision, solve problem supervise activities and track progress.
Management: It is the function that coordinates the efforts of people to accomplish goals and objectives by using available resources efficiently and effectively. It includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization or a system to accomplish a goal.
Recreation: The activities carried out during leisure time.
Resort center: This is a site designed to attract tourists especially for the purpose of exploiting them.
Resort: This is a place to which people go frequently or habitually for rest.
Security: This helps to prevent unauthorized users from illegally accessing certain data within the database, it protects your data/ files.
Skiing: It is a recreational activity and competitive winter sport in which the participant uses skis to glide on snow.
Software: These are set of logically related instructions given to the computer to perform some specific task.
System: This is a system is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole. Every system is delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries, surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its structure and purpose and expressed in its functioning.
Tourism industries: This refers to those industries that also at are concerned with the provision of comprehensive range of recreation facilities and entertainment where people can enjoy themselves.
Tourist: this is a person or an individual who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure or business.
Transportation: This is a means of convening people or something from one place to another. It also makes the existence of tourism.
Travel: It is the act of moving outside one’s home community for business or pleasure but not for commuting or traveling to or from usual places.