SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (Case study of tourist attractions along the coastline of Lagos)

ABSTRACT
Nigeria has abundant tourism components that could make her the leading tourism provider in Africa. There are numerous attractions ranging from places of natural beauty to cultural and historical heritage. Coastal tourism has been a phenomenon within tourism industry in Nigeria. The coastal environment of Nigeria has a rich and diverse ecosystem with natural resources, vegetation, and large human agglomerations. In this paper, the research on the socio-economic impact of tourism development along the coast line of Lagos was thoroughly conducted and assessed to a level of acceptability.

The objectives of this research work are to promote tourism development along the coastal line of Lagos, to carve-out socio-economic roles for tourism providers vis-à-vis adjoining settlement, to assess the socio-economic contribution of tourism development on the host community and to recommend a way forward towards the enhancement of coastal tourism in Nigeria.

The empirical part involved the use of qualitative research method which includes interviews and observations. The findings of this study revealed that the coastal line of Lagos as a tourist attraction has a positive socio-economic impact on the people of the area in terms of job creation, income generation, infrastructural development and other positive elements. Though, there seems to be problems within the region and for that reasons, few recommendations are put forward to give likely solutions and they are: Provision of infrastructural facilities to enhance development in the area, government-private partnership, community involvement to encourage grassroots participation, expansion of the coast line to decongest the already existing ones, security, promotion, coastal zone management and political will on the side of the government. If these recommendations can be followed, the coastal line of Lagos will be an attractive tourist destination in years to come.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research problems
1.2 Aim of the thesis
1.3 Objectives
1.4 Limitation to study

2.   THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM
2.1 The process and ideology of tourism development
2.1.1 Tourism development as a process
2.1.2 The idea of tourism development
2.2 Tourism Planning
2.3 Tourism Marketing
2.4 Social tourism
2.5 Economic tourism

3. NIGERIA’S TOURISM POTENTIALS
3.1 Tourist attractions in Nigeria
3.1.1 Ikogosi warm and cold spring resort, Ekiti state
3.1.2 Calabar, a tourists’ delight
3.1.3 Argungu fishing festival, Kebbi state
3.2 The importance of tourism in Nigeria
3.3 Coastal tourism in Nigeria
3.3.1 Nigerian coastal region
3.3.2 Problems of Nigerian coastal Zones

4. TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN LAGOS STATE
4.1 The coastal region of Lagos state
4.2 Socio-economic value of Lagos coastline
4.3 Problems of the coastline of Lagos

5.   RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Method of Research
5.2 Qualitative research method
5.3 Analysis
5.3.1 Analysis of the expert´s interview
5.3.2 Analysis of the resident´s interview
5.4 Observations
5.4.1 Tourism development along the coastal line of Lagos state
5.4.2 Socio-economic impact of the coastline of Lagos state
5.5 Findings
5.6 Reliability and Validity

6.   RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
6.1 Recommendations
6.2 Conclusion

REFERENCES
APPENDICES


1.   INTRODUCTION
Tourism is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world. It accounts to about 7% of world capital investment with revenue predicted to rise up to 1.550 billion dollars by the year 2015. Africa has a meaningful share in the growing international tourism trade in terms of both tourist arrival and receipt. The importance of Nigerian tourism industry lies in its tourism resources in generating foreign exchange. The Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that the geometric increase in Nigerian tourism industry in which a total number of 828,906 tourists was registered in 2007 and about 900 billion tourist arrive worldwide has made tourism industry one of the most vibrant industries of the world, especially from the economic point of view. Nigeria has a land mass of about 365,000 square miles and she is a country of magnificent site, a wide range of fauna, excellent place for vacation, exploration and sightseeing. In terms of the environment, she has world class tropical rain forests, savannah, grassland, mangrove swamps and the Sahel savannah very close to the Sahara desert.

One of the main factors behind the success of Nigerian tourism is the natural beauty. Nigeria is located along the South Atlantic Ocean and she is blessed with a wide range of water resources. Being a coastal country, she has a wide range of beaches and other marine beauties. Historically, the coastal region aroused about two centuries ago in many European and North America nations as a new form of tourism destination for leisure purposes. Up to the 18th centuries, the coastal area has been a mere landscape, where religious presence and socio-cultural values had not encouraged the area to be known as a leisure site. Nigeria is also rich in handicrafts and sculptures, historical monuments, arts, sport, places of beauty, socio-cultural events, parks, museums, relaxation sites, waterfalls, resorts, hotels and other accommodation facilities among others. She also has abundant cultural and historical heritage which is one of the critical factors for developing rural and urban tourism in the country. However, several museums and other heritage sites in Nigeria often establish a special exhibition to showcase their product to prospective tourists and stakeholders.

All this tourism potential makes Nigeria a hospitable nation and the local norms and values combined with peaceful environment full of loving and friendly people makes her a good and well tantalizing tourism destination.

1.1 Research problems
Despite the fact that tourism is important to any nation, the problems associated with coastal tourism are quite enormous. In that case, such problems are perceptive at the coastal line of Lagos. Being the industrial capital of Nigeria, Lagos has attracted millions of people to the area for business, leisure and other purposes. This resulted in the coastline being over-congested during the holidays. The infrastructural facilities such as good road network and parking space are not enough to meet the demand of the coastal region. The problem of pollution is one of the vital issues in contention. The solid waste disposal in the water by the residents and visitors has posed a potential environmental problem in the area and also made the coastal region unattractive. Flooding is also a major problem in the coastal area. Though this problem rarely occurs, it is one of the disadvantages of the region. Finally, the political will on the side of the government is not appreciable. Government is not paying adequate attention to coastal tourism and this constitutes a major setback to the development of tourism along the coastal line of Lagos.

Apart from the problems incurred as a result of the presence of the coast line, the socio-economic effects of the area are not far-fetched in the later chapters.


1.2 Aim of the thesis
The main aim of writing this thesis is to assess the socio-economic impact of tourism development in Nigeria as regard to the coastal area of Lagos state with a view of integrating more development in the area.


1.3 Objectives
·         To promote tourism development along the coastal line of Lagos.

·         To carve-out socio-economic roles for tourism providers vis-à-vis adjoining settlement

·         To assess the socio-economic contribution of tourism development on the host community

To recommend a way forward towards the enhancement of coastal tourism in Nigeria.......

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Item Type: Project Material  |  Attribute: 61 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word  |  Price: N3,000  |  Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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