Abstract
This study aims to examine the importance of tourism in the economy of Ekiti State, South West Nigeria. A survey was carried out in 6 local government areas in the state using multi-stage sampling approach. A sample size of 300 was used in line with recommendations in (Barrett and Kline, 1981; Aleamoni, 1976). 249 questionnaires were received and about 247 was validated after data clearing. The result reveals that the respondents did not perceive strongly on the contributions of tourism to employment generation, income provision and infrastructure development in Ekiti State. Practical and theoretical contributions of the study are discussed, with future research suggested.
Highlights
Tourism is an instrument of economic regeneratixon and stability, if properly harnessed, it has the capacity to create wealth, empower the people and generate employment opportunities [1]
This study investigated the economic contribution of tourism in Ekiti State using economic indices of employment, income and infrastructure
We observed that in view of the abundant tourist resources in Ekiti State, the state still ranked high in terms of incident of poverty, unemployment and poor infrastructural facilities
Summary
Tourism is an instrument of economic regeneratixon and stability, if properly harnessed, it has the capacity to create wealth, empower the people and generate employment opportunities [1]. The authors affirmed that many countries, such as France, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Thailand, and many island nations, such as Mauritius, Bahamas, Fiji, Maldives, Philippines and the Seychelles are seriously reaping the benefits of this growing sector. In 2011, the economic contribution of tourism globally was put at about $6.3million in GDP with about 200 million jobs directly created, showing that the industry is contributing significantly to the service economy of the world with enormous potentials for socio-economic development [4]. Ekiti State is greatly endowed with tourist resources relative to other countries of the world [1]. Travel and Tourism Economic Impact Assessment on Nigeria in 2012 by the World Travel and Tourism Council [5], revealed that the Ekiti State has the required tourist resources to enhance her economic landscape and witness steady growth economically. The report affirmed that tourist resources in Ekiti State fall into hotels or resorts, recreational parks, wildlife, natural sceneries, cultural festivals, historical relics and monuments [1] richly blessed with abundant tourist resources [3]
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