Marketing Strategies of Niche Tourism Products: A Case Study of Iboku Boat Regatta Practised by the Efik People of South Eastern Nigeria

Marketing strategies adopted by the organisers of the Iboku Boat Regatta practised by the Efik people of South Eastern Nigeria have been assessed. Purposive sampling was adopted to select the study area. Data were acquired from both primary and secondary sources. Results show that several marketing strategies and product packaging techniques were adopted in publicising the festival between 2015 and 2020. However, only 52,780 tourists attended the festival between 2015 and 2020, showing that the adopted strategies are not penetrating enough. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the state government and its relevant agencies to develop a more dynamic and holistic policy framework that incorporates the State Niche Tourism Master Plan or Strategy. The Plan or Strategy should identify niche tourism sites and products with high potential and design marketing goals for the products to attract a significant segment of the specialised tourist market with interest in niche products. The study concludes that the festival could not attract more national and international tourists due to inappropriate marketing strategies adopted by the organisers and the obsolete tourism policy adopted by the state government.