A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF SAFETY AND SECURITY THREATS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES IN CROSS RIVERS STATE (A CASE STUDY OF SOME SELECTED HOTELS IN CALABAR)

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Safety as opined by Chan (2013) is a situation in which threats and circumstances that might cause bodily, mental, or physical damage are minimized in order to protect people's health and well-being. It is a necessary resource for daily life, allowing people and groups to achieve their goals. Software assaults, theft of intellectual property, identity theft, theft of equipment or information, sabotage, and information extortion are all examples of security concerns (Chan,2013).

All of the aforementioned issues are some of the challenges that the hotel sector has faced, and they have caused a stutter in the way they do business as well as anxiety in the minds of potential clients who may want their services (Chan,2013). The hospitality sector is a commercial enterprise that sells its goods and services to visitors and tourists hence the need for hotel hospitality away from home grows as people travel more for business, health, cultural activities, and other reasons. When individuals leave their homes, they need shelter because they need a place to remain after their daily activities to let their bodies and souls to relax for the day and prepare for the following day's activities. In the past, inns and hotels were the most common types of lodging available to travelers along roads and in large cities. The current hotel hospitality sector is divided into four categories: services accommodation, self-catering accommodation, residences of friends and relatives, and boats and youth hotels(Warner 2012).

The aspects that make up a hotel's goods and services include amenities, services, image, pricing, and location. This implies that the aforementioned aspects are embedded in every hotel product and service. The hotel's amenities include rooms, a bar, a restaurant, meeting rooms, conference halls, and recreational facilities such as swimming pools. The services pertain to the services supplied by the hotel facilities, while the image refers to how customers view the hotel. Furthermore, pricing reflects the value provided by the hotel via the aforementioned factors, as well as the satisfaction gained by visitors and tourists as a result of the features. Finally, the hotel's location puts it in a specific region (Warner, 2012). The tourist sector benefits greatly from the hotel business as the number of visitors to a place will decrease if the hospitality business is not there. The hospitality sector is all about providing lodging for visitors and tourists in a place, and it has made a significant contribution to the economic growth of many countries, in different ways, toward raising their quality of life (Waldron, 2006).  However, Terrorist attacks, as well as natural calamities such as the Asian tsunami, hurricanes, and forest fires, warn hospitality providers and purchasers to be ready for any eventuality. Security threats are categorized into numerous sorts and are not confined to a single aspect. Even Tarlow (2009) claimed that safety included avoiding possible death and injury to personnel and clients on the hotel property, such as through unintentional slips, falls, cuts, burns, and so on, as well as preventing property damage. Many hotel corporations have implemented electronic locks, fire sprinklers, smoke detectors, and closed circuit TVs to combat the danger (Jones, 2014). As the danger of insecurity expands throughout the world and poses a severe challenge for the hotel sector, the security of assets, the safety of the staff who keep them functioning, and the well-being of the visitors become more crucial. In today's world of proliferating terrorism and heightened security concerns, hotel security departments are faced with a grim, new reality of experimenting with new ways to improve hotel security as hotels become increasingly vulnerable to attacks by radical groups who use terror as their primary strategy. Hotel attacks in Calabar have shown to hoteliers that no state or territory is immune from attack, and no hotel is totally secure (Lagat, 2014). The only method to avoid or lessen insecurity risks is for hotel security to be on high alert all of the time and to carry out their duties fully.

1.2       Statement of the problem

Tourism and hospitality are two Siamese twins that can never be separated, it is a reality. In nature, they are twins and intertwined (Chan, 2013). The tourism and hospitality industries are complementary. Without the hotel business, tourism activities would be incomplete. Hotels, motels, inns, caravans, and hostels are only a few examples of hospitality. Because of its many goods and services, it is supposed to be a home away from home. However, it is disappointing to observe that the business is now beset by several risks to its security and safety throughout the world (Tarlow, 2009). Religious threats, political threats, ethnic violence, herdsmen assaults, and terrorist attacks are all examples of this. Cyber crime, theft, fraud, fire outbreaks, staff arguing, criminally inclined guests, abduction, poison from food and drinks, sexual harassment, and indiscriminate clusters of buildings within the hotel vicinity are just a few examples (Tarlow, 2009). These unquestionably jeopardize the industry's safety and security, particularly the hotel, which is meant to be first among equals. In the tourist sector, safety and security are essential for offering high-quality service. It serves as the hub for all activity in the hotel industry. The factors that make up a hotel's goods and services to guests and visitors include amenities, services, image, pricing, and location. The hotel's long-term viability is largely determined by the safety and security of these features. In this day of worrisome insecurity in the globe, security and safety are the prisms through which customers assess the image of the hotel. As a result, the hotel industry's safety and security threats must be investigated (Tarlow, 2009).

1.3       Objective of the study

The primary objective of the study

1.        To examine the causes of security threats hospitality industry are faced with.

2.        To find out the various safety and security threat facing the hospitality industry in Calabar.

3.        To examine the safety and security measures put in place by providers of hospitality services.

4.        To find out the strategies that can be used to improve safety and security level in the hospitality industry.

1.4       Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for this study

1)        What are the causes of security threats hospitality industry are faced with?

2)        What are the various safety and security threat facing the hospitality industry in Calabar?

3)        What are the safety and security measures put in place by providers of hospitality services?

4)        What are the strategies that can be used to improve safety and security level in the hospitality industry?

1.5       Significance of the study

This study will examine  Safety and Security Threats in Hospitality Industries in Cross Rivers State.

This study will be of benefit to the Nigerian security agencies on the need to do more in the protection of citizens privacy from cyber attacks, it will also help them in bringing out new strategies that will help in curbing security threat.

This study is also significant to the hospitality industry as it help them see the need to improve their technology and also help them in knowing how to beef up and protect their hotels from been exposed to security threat.

This study is significant to the academic community as it will contribute to existing literature.

1.6       Scope of the study

This study focuses on Safety and Security Threats in Hospitality Industries in Cross Rivers State. The study also, examine the causes of security threats hospitality industry are faced with. More so,the study will find out the various safety and security threat facing the hospitality industry in Calabar. Furthermore,  the study will examine the safety and security measures put in place by providers of hospitality services. Lastly, the study will find out the strategies that can be used to improve safety and security level in the hospitality industry. Hence this study will be delimited to some selected hotels in Calabar, Cross Rivers state.

1.7       Limitation of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:

Just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data

Financial constraint , was faced by  the researcher ,in getting relevant materials  and  in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher

1.8       Definition of terms

Safety:  the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury

Security threat: a malicious act that aims to corrupt or steal data or disrupt an organization's systems or the entire organization.

Hospitality industry: a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism.

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