CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Nigeria offers a wide variety of tourist attractions such as extended
and roomy river and ocean beaches ideal for swimming and other water
sports, unique wildlife, vast tracts of unspoiled nature ranging from
tropical forest, magnificent waterfalls, some new rapidly growing cities
and climatic conditions in some parts particularly conducive to
holidaying. Other attractions include traditional ways of life preserved
in local customs; rich and varied handicrafts and other colourful
products depicting or illustrative of native arts and lifestyle, and the
authentic unsophisticated but friendly attitude of many in the Nigerian
population. However, many of these attractions are still largely
untapped and even at their raw states, they are still being enjoyed by
few outsiders, either very rich visitors in quest of exoticism or
adventurous people in search of new challenges and experiences.The lack
of required modern infrastructural facilities and in some parts of the
country acute conditions of underdevelopment and poverty can be seen
which many potential Nigeria bound tourist may not like to be confronted
with. These are impediments to tourism, which the new administration
has been tackling since assumption of office. Investors, both foreign
and local are therefore called upon to come and invest in the abundant
tourism potentials in the country. The richness and diversity of
Nigeria's tourism resources coupled with economic liberalization
policies will provide investment opportunities in various areas as
follows:
- Heritage/Cultural Tourism Resources Development of slave trade relics
- Establishment of museums and preservation of monuments
- Wildlife Tourism Resources
- Development of hiking trails and Jeep tracks in the national parks
- Development of picnic and camping sites at strategic locations within the trail circuit system in the national parks
- Building of tourist lodges
- Building of reception centers at Natural/Physical Attractions
- Provision of cable bus system to take tourist through the very
rugged but scenic terrain of the mountains especially in Kanyang, Obudu
and Mambilla Plateau Construction of lodge cabins for expedition tourist
and rangers.
- Establishment of hotels and resorts near waterfalls, springs, caves
and temperate climate areas such as Obudu, jos and Mambila Plateau.
- Beach Tourism potentials Establishment of boating and sport fishing facilities.
- Development of water transportation Provision of educational facilities for water skiing and swimming.
- Establishment of holiday resorts along the coasts.
- Development of Amusement parks, entertainment facilities and shopping services.
- Development of arts and crafts which constitute symbol of the people's cultural values and love for nature.
Policy concerns goals and allocation of resources in situations, and
to social problems, sometimes called ‘wicked’ problems (Rittel&
Weber, 1973), where there is no clear answer. An example is the: ‘very
real quandary (of a social and economic significance unlikely to be
faced by academic observers) that the Minister [of Tourism for Eritrea]
confronted in comparing the ‘social and ecological dangers posed by
large-scale development’, with the ‘desperate need of foreign investment
and the foreign exchange earnings some of which could be generated
through tourism’ (Burns, 1999, p. 343). A consequence of the ‘messy’
nature of policy is that there will be differences in opinions
concerning ‘appropriate’ policy to deal with a particular problem with
each outcome resulting in ‘winners and losers’. 1.3 Objectives of the study
1. To study the relationship that exists between government policies
and development of tourism in Nigeria. 2. To know whether government
policies affects the development of tourism in Nigeria. 1.4 Research questions
1. Is there a significant relationship between government policies and
development of tourism in Nigeria? 2. Do government policies affect the
development of tourism in Nigeria? 1.5 Research hypotheses Hypothesis One Ho: There is no significant relationship between government policies and development of tourism in Nigeria. Hi: There is a significant relationship between government policies and development of tourism in Nigeria.
Hypothesis Two Ho: Government policies do not affect the development of tourism in Nigeria. Hi: Government policies affect the development of tourism in Nigeria. 1.6 Significance of the study
There are a number of reasons why the study of tourism policy is
difficult. A first reason is that tourism policy, explicitly or
implicitly involves beliefs and values, about what is good and bad.
Policy concerns goals and allocation of resources in situations, and to
social problems, sometimes called ‘wicked’ problems (Rittel& Weber,
1973), where there is no clear answer. An example is the: ‘very real
quandary (of a social and economic significance unlikely to be faced by
academic observers) that the Minister [of Tourism for Eritrea]
confronted in comparing the ‘social and ecological dangers posed by
large-scale development’, with the ‘desperate need of foreign investment
and the foreign exchange earnings some of which could be generated
through tourism’ (Burns, 1999, p. 343). A consequence of the ‘messy’
nature of policy is that there will be differences in opinions
concerning ‘appropriate’ policy to deal with a particular problem with
each outcome resulting in ‘winners and losers’. …development policies
and activities are exactly like any other policies and activities in
this crucial respect: there is little or no likelihood of positive-sum
outcomes with gains to all participants (Goldsworthy, 1988, p. 508).
Policy is seen as complex (McDonald, 2009) requires system and
complexity thinking (Farrell & Twining-Ward, 2005), and is best
dealt with as a complex adaptive system. The discussion that surrounds
the dilemma of the Minister of Tourism for Eritrea is common highlights
another difficulty in studying policy, and is reflected in debate
concerning ‘tourism as industry vs. tourism as problem’ debate (Ritchie,
Burns, & Palmer, 2005, p. 3), and of the contrast between tourism
policy advice as the immediate outcome of an academic study, versus
policy as the object of study. In many policy-related papers there is a
‘tourism as industry’ perspective that may, for example, examine how
destinations can secure a competitive edge in increasingly global
consumer markets (Ritchie & Crouch, 2000). This perspective is
considered by Bramwell and Lane (2006, p. 1) as ‘distinctly positivist
and empirical in outlook; it leaves the impression that it is dealing
with objective, value-free or neutral knowledge’. The alternative is to
consider tourism policy as a domain for examination of concepts such as
trust, collaboration, social identity, the exercise of power, and so on;
and best viewed through a variety of disciplinary and ideological
‘lenses’, that are becoming increasingly diverse, especially as
researchers work at, and sometimes cut across, different levels (macro,
micro) of analysis’ (J. Jenkins, 2001, p. 70). 1.7 Scope of the study
This study on the effect of Government policies on the development of
tourism in Nigeria will cover various forms of Government policies in
Nigeria and its effect on the development of tourism in Nigeria
considering factors that can encourage better tourist centers in
Nigeria. 1.8 Limitations of the study Financial constraint-
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in
sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in
the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview). Time constraint-
The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other
academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for
the research work. 1.9 Definition of terms Government Policy:Is
a declaration of a government's political activities, plans and
intentions relating to a concrete cause or, at the assumption of office,
an entire legislative session. In certain countries they are announced
by the head of government or a minister of the parliament. Tourism:Isthe
theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting,
accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating
tours. Tourism may be international, or within the traveler's country.