Awareness, Participation And Constraints To Cultural Festivals Tourism In Idanre Hills Resort, Nigeria

Abstract

Festivals are events celebrated in a particular community to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the people. This study investigated the awareness, participation and constraints to cultural festivals tourism in Idanre Hills Resort, Ondo State, Nigeria. Data collection was through admnistration of structured questionnaire and key informant interviews. The sample size was 250 tourists and 20 key informants. Data were analysed and presented descriptively. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data collected through interview was carried out. Logistic regression was used to test the hypothesis. The result of the study established the presence of four cultural festivals currently celebrated at Idanre Hills Resort. More than half of the tourists (57.2%) were not aware of the cultural festivals at the Resort while 26.0% particpated in cultural festivals. In addition, 52.4% of those not currently participating in cultural festivals at the Resort were willing to particpate in the future. The main potential constraints towards the development of cultural festival tourism identified was insecurity (Mean=4.20). Education (p<0.01), employment status (p<0.01), and income (p<0.0 ) were the determinants of tourists’ awareness of cultural festivals at the Resorts while education (p<0.01), religion (p<0.01), and employment status (p<0.01) were the determinants of tourists’ willigness to participate in cultural festival tourism at the Resort. Wider, aggressive, and sustained publicity and promotion of cultural festivals, adequate government support and security at the festivals destination are recommended..