Evaluation of Marketing Communication Strategies Adopted by Hotels in Kano State, North West Nigeria

This study evaluates the marketing communication strategies adopted by hotels in Kano State, North West Nigeria, and their effectiveness in attracting target customer segments. The North West hotel market presents unique challenges and opportunities, given the region's distinct cultural context, predominantly domestic tourist base, and growing commercial activity. A mixed-method research design is employed with questionnaires administered to 120 hotel guests and structured interviews conducted with marketing directors of 14 registered hotels in Kano metropolis. Variables examined include advertising channels used, social media engagement levels, public relations activities, loyalty programme implementation, and the perceived effectiveness of each communication strategy. Findings indicate that traditional communication channels including radio, print newspapers, and local word-of-mouth remain dominant, with 68 percent of hotel guests citing personal referrals as their primary booking information source. Digital marketing adoption is limited, with fewer than 40 percent of sampled hotels maintaining active social media profiles updated more than twice weekly. Hotels using multi-channel marketing communication strategies report 31 percent higher occupancy rates than those relying exclusively on traditional channels. The study recommends investment in digital marketing capacity, culturally adapted content strategies for the North West audience, and structured loyalty programme development. State-level tourism marketing coordination between the Kano State Tourism Corporation and hotel operators is also strongly advised. Keywords: marketing communication, hotel marketing, customer acquisition, Kano State, digital marketing