ADVERTISING INFLUENCE IN PROMOTING BRANDHERITAGE FOR TOURISM: A STUDY OF 2016 CALABARCARNIVAL, NIGERIA

In Nigeria, tourism is one of the untapped resources that can generatesignificant revenue for the nation. However, a state such as CrossRiver has organized tourist activities to promote the culturaltraditions and heritage of the Nigerian people. Advertising hasbecome a very multifaceted institution. It is a means of disseminatinginformation about a product, service or idea, its attributes or qualitiesand locations of sales. The study therefore attempted to investigatehow advertising has contributed to the choice of Calabar for touristrelaxations as well as assess the extent to which the Calabar carnivalhas promoted the culture of tourism in Nigeria. The study was anchored on the hierarchy of eff ects model. The study made use ofthe survey design and the instruments for data collection werequestionnaire and interview. The population for the study wastourists present at the 2016 Calabar carnival which had a sample sizeof 350 but only 347 copies of the questionnaire were useful foranalysis. The findings of the study showed that advertising hasindeed contributed to the choice of Calabar for tourist relaxation. Thestudy went further in discovering that 98% of the respondents felt theCalabar carnival had a positive eff ect on tourism in Nigeria. Thefinding also revealed that the medium respondents viewed suchadverts through was mostly through the television. The researcherstherefore recommend that for Nigeria to be a pacesetter in Culturalheritage in Africa, more limelight should be given to tourism becauseof its potential especially to a developing nation like Nigeria withabundant tourism attractions. Hence, the study concluded on thenote that advertising the Calabar carnival is impactful as it providesenlightenment, generates interest and promotes relaxationexperiences