Determining key aspects of ecotourism product development

Abstract

Ecotourism is seen as one of the fastest-growing divisions of the tourism industry. This rapid growth can be attributed to its ability to sustainably protect and conserve the environment, create ecological, socio-cultural and socio-economic advantages for the locals as well as generate foreign exchange. No wonder regions endowed with natural wealth are beginning to see the need to preserve and develop their God-given potentials. However, the ability of ecotourism to sustainably protect and conserve the environment as well as create economic benefits for the nation and the local community is largely dependent on the manner in which these ecotourism products are determined or have received development priority. The lack of research on ecotourism product development as well as the need for ecotourism products in Nigeria, particularly in the CRNP, has ignited this current study. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the tourism potentials in CRNP to determine the key aspects of ecotourism product development for the destination based on ecotourists' product needs. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were put forward; [1] to conduct a literature analysis regarding ecotourism and wildlife tourism. Part of these objectives is to look further at future trends and needs of ecotourists, [2] to research the ecotourism product development literature to determine the critical aspects of importance for tourism product development, [3] to conduct empirical research on the roles played by the government and its agencies in ecotourism product development of the state as well as in CRNP. This objective was achieved by means of a qualitative study, [4] to conduct empirical research on ecotourists to Obudu Mountain Resort (survey site) to determine the ecotourism product development needs of ecotourists by means of quantitative study. Part of this objective is to carry out further investigations by qualitative research on key role players such as the Commissioner, Cross River State Ministry of Culture and Tourism development (CRSMCTD), the Operating Officer, Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTB) and the Research Officer, CRNP, and [5] to draw conclusions from, and to make recommendations based on, the literature and research results of the study. The first objective of this study was an analysis of the literature on wildlife tourism and ecotourism. This gave an overview of the term 'nature-based tourism' since wildlife and ecotourism are both forms of nature-based tourism. The analysis of the literature on wildlife tourism that originated from nature-based tourism with the purpose of filling the gap created by nature-based tourism and ecotourism in its inability to deal with the issues related to wildlife, revealed that wildlife tourism is the best conservation option, especially when it involves a non-consumptive form of wildlife and passive wildlife observation. However, the analysis of the literature on ecotourism confirmed that ecotourism offered a more promising sustainable objective that is entirely non-consumptive and based on the natural setting, empowers the local community and enhances tourism development.

The second objective dealt with the analysis of the literature on tourism product development. With a general view of the concept 'tourism product', the literature analysis established that the tourism product does not exist in isolation, but rather the tourism product is a bundle of different elements such as attraction, activities, accommodation, amenities, appeal, ancillary services and available packages and they are the principal components that determine a successful tourism destination as tourist destination choice depends solely on these elements. The third objective was empirical research on the roles played by the government and its agencies in ecotourism product development of the state as well as in CRNP. This objective was achieved through semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews with key role players such as the Commissioner, CRSMCTD, Operating Officer, CRSTB and Research Officer, CRNP. The fourth objective was empirical research on ecotourists to Obudu Mountain Resort (survey site) to determine the ecotourism product development needs of ecotourists by means of quantitative study. To achieve this objective, a self-administered questionnaire was developed and administered to tourists in Obudu Mountain Resort between December 2019 and February 2020. The survey involved two methods: a self-completed questionnaire (i.e., respondents filling in the questionnaires on their own) and interviewer-completed questionnaire (interviewer writing down the responses posed orally to respondents). In the end, a total of 293 questionnaires were used and retrieved from respondents. The collected data were captured via the direct entry method aided by the Microsoft® Office Excel 2016. The qualitative study was analysed through content analysis, while the quantitative study analysis was performed in two stages. The first stage comprised a descriptive analysis of the respondent's demographic profile involving frequency analysis and percentages. The results were then presented in graphs, charts and tables aided by the Microsoft® Office Excel 2016 tools. The second stage was factor analysis. The factor analysis was done with the aid of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The results revealed the following key aspects regarding ecotourism product development for the studied area. Direct and indirect aspects were identified. Directly identified aspects; the development of better accommodation facilities is critical (such as eco-lodge, treehouse, nature trail and canopy walkway), better access roads to park, tarred roads in the park, a variety of wildlife activities (e.g., game viewing, birdwatching, Chimpanzee encounter, Gorilla tracking and observing Drill Monkeys), restaurant or places for tourist to eat and decent parking areas. Indirect aspects identified are; to improve the marketing strategy, the need for government financial support and partnership with other stakeholders, the need for financial support from a private organisation (such as Wilderness Safaris (WS) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), community support and putting safety measures in place (i.e. provision of safety gadgets, personnel training, the development of Tourism Safety Management Plan (TSMP) as well as employment of the youth as security guards).