Dimensions of Rural Participation (Decision-Making, Implementation, and Benefit Sharing) and Tourism Sustainability in Cross River State, Nigeria 0 0
Keywords:
rural participation, decision-making, tourism sustainability, benefit sharing, community-based tourism, sustainable tourism developmentAbstract
Although community participation is generally accepted as an important element of sustainable tourism development, empirical evidence regarding the impact of the various aspects of community participation on the sustainability of tourism development is limited especially in the context of developing countries. The present study looked at the linkages between the participation in decision making, implementation and benefits sharing among rural communities and the sustainability of tourism in Cross River State, Nigeria. For this study, a correlational survey design was used. The population was those residents of rural communities within key tourism destinations in the State and a sample of 688 respondents were selected by a multistage sampling procedure. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the dimensions of rural participation and tourism sustainability. Simple linear regression was used to analyze the data at the .05 level of significance. The results showed that the rural participation in decision making was a significant predictor of tourism sustainability (R = .781, Adjusted R2 = .610, F = 1073.519, p < .05) and explained 61.0% of the variance in tourism sustainability. The participation of rural people in implementation was also a significant predictor of tourism sustainability (R = .796, Adjusted R² = .633, F = 1187.480, p < .05), with the highest predictive variation of 63.3% among the dimensions explored and was the strongest predictor. Rural participation in benefit sharing, too, had a significant relationship with tourism sustainability (R = .701, Adjusted R² = .491, F = 664.421 and p < .05), explaining 49.1% of the variance in tourism sustainability. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers come to the conclusion that sustainable tourism development is heavily reliant on meaningful participation of the community in the process of tourism development. It calls for the formalisation of participatory governance structures, increased community involvement in tourism implementation and equitable benefit sharing to improve the sustainability of tourism in Cross River State and other similar tourist locations. The study makes a significant contribution to the literature on sustainable tourism,by illustrating the differential effects of the participation dimensions on the dimension of sustainable tourism in a developing country context.
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