Abstract
Tourism is a fast-growing industry, and one of the most vital sectors that drive the economic growth of a nation. This current work investigates the socio-economic impact of tourism in Sierra Leone. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to (1) analyze the contribution of tourism to national employment and poverty alleviation (2) analyze the contribution of tourism to the local economy (3) assess the impacts of tourism on destination regions in Sierra Leone. A total of 130 respondents from different works of life are targeted for this study. Results revealed that tourism have provided employment opportunities for many people especially youths. However, the nature of employment ranged from full time to part time. Tourism has also help many locals to establish business enterprises to meet the needs and demands of tourists. This has contributed to local economic growth in most part of the country. Both positive and negative impacts of tourism were identified on this current study. The positive impacts included cultural exchange between tourists and local people, infrastructural development in tourist destination communities or areas, and local currency flow. Soaring crime rates, cultural invasion, high cost of living are some of the negative implications of tourism identified by respondents.
Highlights
Tourism is seen as a poverty alleviation, economic diversification and inter-cultural strategy in most regions of the world
Recommendations In Sierra Leone, the tourism industry is key to long-term growth and competitiveness
The sector has promoted cultural exchange between local and foreigners. There are both positive and negative impacts stated by respondents which scale and magnitude cannot be elucidated here
Summary
Tourism is seen as a poverty alleviation, economic diversification and inter-cultural strategy in most regions of the world. It had been described as one of the fastest-growing industry in terms of revenue generation and employment opportunities [1]. For example in Tanzania, an earlier report suggested that the contribution of tourism in revenues was US$2.1 billion (i.e. 4.7 percent of total GDP), provided 470,500 jobs, contributed total export earnings of approximately US $2,446.6 million, and US$ 1.2 billion investment in 2016 [3]. In Thailand, foreign earning from tourism resulted in the creation of approximately 2.4 million jobs in 2015 [4]
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