Analysis of Determinants of Business Tourists Choice of Public Road Transportation Firms in Minna, Nigeria

Abstract

The last one decade witnessed a sprung up of many public road transport firms in Minna in Nigeria, each providing range of services to attract travelers so as to remain in the market sustainably. These firms are enjoying varying patronage from a wide market segment particularly business tourists whose reasons for selection of a specific firm for trips are academically undocumented and not segmented. Thus, the main objective of this research is to explore the determinants of domestic business tourist’s choice of public road transportation firms and segment them. An exploratory mixed method research design was used in which a qualitative data through 10 interviews was firstly collected, then followed by a quantitative data collection through the administration of 208 questionnaires in the premises of six public transportation firms in Minna, Nigeria. Thematic analysis and cluster analysis in SPSS 22 were performed, and the study found out that the main determinants of business tourists’ choice of road transport firms are: palpability, reliability, receptivity, Safety, compassion, affordability and normative influence. Based on these factors, two distinct segments of business tourists were discovered namely: patronage assured and revisit uncertain business tourists.