Enhancing Eco-Tourism Development in Rural Cross R...

Enhancing Eco-Tourism Development in Rural Cross River State: An Empirical Analysis of Infrastructure and Local Business Initiatives.

Abstract

This study examined the Enhancing Eco-Tourism Development in Rural Cross River State: An Empirical Analysis of Infrastructure and Local Business Initiatives. Two research questions directed this study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of this study comprised 47,483 tourism workers and tourism business owners in the study area. The sample for the study comprised 1,040 respondents in the study area which multi-stage sampling approach was adopted. Data were collected using a questionnaire titled “Socio Economic Factors and Ecotourism Development in Rural Communities Questionnaire” (SEFEDRCQ). The instrument was validated by three research experts from Educational Foundation department of the University of Calabar. The reliability of the instrument was determined with Cronbach Alpha reliability method which gave reliability coefficient which ranged from .83 to .89. The data collected were analyzed using Simple Linear Regression and Multiple Linear Regression tested from .05 level of significance and the result reveals that there is a significance influence of provision of infrastructural facilities, local business development, and cultural activities on ecotourism development in rural communities. Based on the result of the study it was concluded that, provision of infrastructural facilities, local business development, and cultural activities should be properly managed to promote ecotourism development. It was recommended among others that, policymakers and stakeholders should develop regulations that support community-based tourism initiatives and ensure that local communities benefit from ecotourism

Introduction

Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conservation and environmental education. Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with living parts of natural environments, in contrast to geotourism, which is associated with geology. In contrast to nature tourism and sustainable tourism in general, ecotourism also usually intended to foster a greater appreciation in tourists of natural habitats and threats they experience, as well as local culture (Buckley, 2019). Eco-tourism promotes income generation. Communities located near major attraction sites, such as; national parks, reserves, archaeological and historic sites should have the opportunity to participate in ecotourism activities. These communities can provide hotels (accommodation), restaurants, shops, transportation and tour services; they can also be employed in management and operational activities. One important way to involve communities and gain their support in tourism is through local job creation. However, employment in ecotourism has been observed as mostly unskilled and semiskilled and often with low quality and low remuneration (Ofre, et al, 2017). UNWTO (2020) revealed that, today the majority of people in the developed world and increasing numbers in developing countries are tourists, at some time in their lives. Tourism is no longer the prerogative of a few but an accepted and accustomed, even expected, part of the lifestyle of a large and growing number of people. Tourism is of major economic and social significance because about 270 million tourists spend $92 billion (US) annually in places outside their own countries. This is one of the largest items in the world’s foreign trade. The world growth in visitor arrivals rate of approximately 6 percent per annum, tourism is also one of the fastest growing economic activities. It is the most important export industry and earner of foreign exchange in many countries. Looking at benefits and relevance of tourism, it could be in terms of its economic significance, where receipts from international tourism can provide a valuable source of earnings for both development as well as developing countries. Visitors spending generate income for both public and private sectors, besides effecting wages and employment opportunities.