Purpose This study aims to present the push-pull motives of Islamic tourism and how these provide the basis for promoting and developing Islamic tourism practices in Ghana’s tourism industry. As Islamic tourism is considered as a niche market with new needs and wants globally, this study makes the effort to identify the prospects of this form of tourism in a non-Islamic developing nation. Design/methodology/approach The study has used a convenience sampling approach in gathering data from 337 Muslim tourists, adopting existing scale instruments of push-pull motives, satisfaction, word-of-mouth of tourists and Islamic practices. The structural equation modelling was used to establish relationships and effects of the studied variables. Findings The results revealed the significant effects of push-pull motives of Ghanaian Muslim tourists on satisfaction as well as the significant influence of tourist satisfaction on word-of-mouth. In addition, the significant moderating effects of Islamic practices on the relationships between push-pull motives and tourist satisfaction were established. Research limitations/implications The conclusion and recommendations of this study might not be consistent with factors that motivate Muslims tourists in other countries. Practical implications The results of the study validate the viability of Islamic tourism practices and possible spread of positive word-of-mouth among potential Muslim tourists for future Islamic tourism market in Ghana. Originality/value This paper provides the first insight into push-pull motives of Muslim tourists’ choice of Islamic destination in non-Islamic developing country context. The insight will be valuable to tourism authorities, industry, academics, businesses, managers and practitioners, as the results will enhance product and service delivery to Muslim tourists when they are on vacation.

PurposeThis paper aims at investigating how tourist experience elicits satisfaction and contributes to loyalty and willingness to pay more for a museum destination. The study also investigates the significant moderating role of visiting frequency on the relationship between satisfaction and willingness to pay more.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted with 385 tourists who visited the National Museum in Ghana and answered questions relating to experience, satisfaction, loyalty, and willingness to pay more. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships and effects of the adapted constructs.FindingsThe results revealed the significant effects of tourist experience on satisfaction, as well as the significant effects of satisfaction on loyalty and willingness to pay more. In addition, a significant moderating effect of visiting frequency was reported on the relationship between satisfaction and tourist willingness to pay more.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is destination-specific. The application of the findings to other museums would demand a bigger sample size for generalisation to be made.Practical implicationsManagers should develop strategies that promote museum tourist travelling experience, satisfaction, desire and choice, and thereby attract more tourists to museum sites.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the growing literature on museum tourist experience as an important variable in promoting tourist satisfaction, loyalty, and tourist willingness to pay more.

This paper seeks to propose a conceptual framework for the development of a holistic measurement scale to determine the extent of internal market orientation (IMO) of a firm. To this end, the study reviewed the antecedent of the internal marketing (IM) constructs, and identified some disagreement and controversies surrounding the internal marketing philosophy. Some of the disagreement and arguments identified concerned internal marketing as an approach to human resource management (HRM); similarities regarding IMO and external marketing; and mutual misunderstanding on marketing and public administration. The paper also reviewed research works that confirmed the importance of employees to a firm's performance. Finally, the paper proposed a new direction of research that integrates institutional factors in the development of IMO measurement. The new direction of research is expected to facilitate response to calls for periodic review of an IMO measurement instrument that is consistent with changes in the marketing environment.

PurposeThe migration-tourism discourse has gained attention in global tourism and mobility among scholars because of the vast contributions of migrant visitors to various sectors of the host country's economy, including the tourism and hospitality industry. However, few studies appear to have been undertaken on the subject matter, particularly within the developing country tourism context. The purpose of this research was to assess and understand migrant visitors' sense of safety among five different nationalities (United Kingdom, USA, Germany, China and India) and their perceptions on trustworthiness of tourism information.Design/methodology/approachAnchored on the national cultural dimension of Hofstede model, this study sampled 306 migrant visitors, with the use of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Games–Howell post-hoc test to examine mean differences of nationalities, with regard to trust of tourism information and sense of safety. Finally, the multiple regression analysis was conducted to establish the significant effects of national culture characteristics and trustworthiness of tourism information on sense of safety of migrant visitors.FindingsThe study finds that there were no significant differences in the sense of safety by the five nationalities. However, national culture characteristics (power distance and uncertainty avoidance) and trustworthiness of tourism information were significant predictors of sense of safety of migrant visitors.Research limitations/implicationsThis research adopted only two cultural dimensions of the Hofstede's model, so future studies within the migration-tourism literature should consider adopting other cultural dimensions of the model.Practical implicationsThe research provides, first, insight into sense of safety, trustworthiness of tourism information and national culture characteristics which are relevant for destination marketers, the ministry of tourism and local tourism officials to promote safety tourism.Originality/valueThe study expands the application of the cultural dimension of Hofstede model within the migration-tourism literature and establishes that national cultural characteristics and trustworthiness of tourism information are significant predictors of sense of safety of migrant visitors.

The largest research organization in Ghana has of part of its mandate to raise internally generated funds through the commercialization of research products and services in order to supplement government's budgetary allocation. How could its internal structures, vision and mission be strategically aligned for effective commercialization performance? The study utilizes the McKinsey 7 S Framework which is an analytical tool used to help in a variety of situations, including how to improve the performance of a company, and determine how best to implement a proposed strategy. Finally, the study makes some strategic recommendations for consideration by policy makers within the public sector.