INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

There are many ways to examine the factors, which can

significantly impact on tourists’ decision on destination

selection, one popular way of which is to look at destination’s

attractions. Attractions have been viewed by many researchers as

the reason for tourists visiting a particular destination

(Richards, 2002:1048). There are two perspectives that a

destination’s attractions can be examined, namely, tourism sites

which are physically included in the destination, and attributes

which are associated with the destination.Tourism is the business

of providing and marketing services and facilities for pleasure

travelers (Nona, 1993). It is a form of recreation that requires

leaving home for some other places, whether near or far

(Olokesusi, 1989). It can also be defined as the phenomenon

arising from temporary visits (or stays away from home) outside

the normal place of residence for any reason other than

furthering an occupation remunerated from within the place

visited (Burkart and Medlik, 1981). From all the above

definitions, a tourist could be regarded as a person who is

visiting for at least one day in an area basically for the

purpose of leisure or business. Tourism involves the movement and

stay of foreigners inside and outside a city or a region,

provided the journey and stay of the stranger is not connected

with remunerative activities. In this sense, it is the sum total

of the temporary or short term movement of people from their

point of origin (source) to a destination outside their place of

work or residence. It equally entails all the non-economic

activities in which they participate during the time they stay

outside their registered domiciles.Paul (2000) defined tourism as

recreation activities requiring at least one night’s stay away

from home following a recreational interest. In this

sense,tourism involves the movement of people from a generating

region to a destination region for the purpose of adventure or

relaxation. In line with the above definition, John (1995)

defined tourism as the temporary short-term movement of people

away from where they normally live and work. A tourist in this

regard is a person who travels from place to place for non-work

reasons. The sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from

the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far as they do not

lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any

earning activity is regarded as tourism (Leonard and Carson,

1997). It involves the process of visiting for at least one night

for leisure and holiday, business and professional or other

tourism purposes (John, 1995). Thus, among others, the reasons

for tourism include cultural,historical, recreational,

environmental and ethnic considerations. It is a net earner of

foreign exchange and a major contributor to national balance of

payment. Some African countries like Tanzania, Kenya,Algeria,

Morocco, Gambia and Egypt are now reaping the socio-economic

benefits from the development of tourism resources. This supports

the view of their Robinson (1976) that tourism is a great

contributor to nations’ economy in socio-cultural, economic and

political ways.Beautiful natural scenarios as well as cultural

artifacts for the purpose of tourism are far more available in

the rural communities than in the urban areas (Ikporukpo, 1993).

He noted further that the rural areas create social safety and

the enabling environment for recreation and tourism. In a similar

submission, David (1995) noted that the natural resources of

rural areas, which attract visitors, increasingly have to be

protected from overuse and misuse, and managed for specific

leisure activities. Factors affecting the participation in

tourism activities include gender, educational background,

purpose of visit, age, occupation, the required facilities as

well as the available transportation system. Other factor are

environmental, political, religious, cultural and social

differences. The supply factors that pull tourists to specific

destinations include the level of development of the tourism

potentials, provision of infrastructural amenities, the quality

of the environment, the supply of accommodation and the

accessibility to tourism potentials.

Other factors affecting the level of patronage of tourist

attractions are the qualities of accommodation, attractions of

the destination, price levels in destination, as well as

transport. The non-economic determinants which constitute the

motivational and structural factors which influence the demand

for tourism include urbanization, the travel trade, marketing, as

well as education. Other factors are changes in population

structure as well as increase in leisure time.The key factors

that impede tourism development in developing countries include

poor implementation of tourism plans, absence of defined measures

to encourage participation in toruism, policy formulation and

implementation, and poor infrastructural development. Other

factors are, cultural and financial constraints as well as

manpower development and motivation. All these factors hinder

tourism development in third world countries. Another impediment

identified by Aworitefe (1986) is lack of understanding of the

importance of recreation and tourism as well as bad management.

Tourism is a concomitant to sustainable development. It is a

great generator of economic wealth for developed countries like

United State America Germany, Japan, France and Canada. The

challenge of international tourism has been accepted by few

African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Egypt and

Algeria These countries are now reaping the socio-economic and

psychological benefits that are associated with tourism

development.

In Nigeria, little attention has been given to tourism

development (Ojo, 1978; Afolabi 1992). The reason for this is not

unconnected with the low economic structure as well as the rural

economic base of the country. However, the nation is very rich

both in ecology and culture. It has a wide variety of

biodiversity. It is equally blessed with many traditional

festivals and cultural attractions. On this note, Ikporukpo

(1993) noted that the multiplicity of cultures in the country

provides a good setting for the evolution of various cultural

heritage-based tourist facilities.

Ekiti State, Nigeria has abundant tourism resources in their

urban and rural

places. There are several potentials for relaxation and holiday

in their tourist attractions. The vistas of excellence in Ekiti

State include rocky mountains, unique plants, forest reserves,

parks, gardens, warm springs, lakes, buildings of historical

significance, and several other man-made and natural features.

The main motivation for this study lies in the fact

that in spite of the numerous tourism potentials of the state,

the level of participation intourism is very low. This is due

partly to ignorance of the benefits of tourism and

mainly to the poor development state of the potentials. Thus,

this study aims at awakening individuals, the government,

parastatals, policy makers, nongovernmental organizations and

tourists to the broad duty of moving towards sustainable tourism

in the state

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

In view of the product status of this natural attractions in

baruten local government, and it’s international

recognition ,there is need to survey the attraction sites in

order to examine their current level of development of the

attraction and the development challenges faced by the study area

which has been detrimental to the growth of tourism in the area.

In the course of carrying out the research, it was

observed that certain factors has led to the impediment of

tourism development in the study area ; accessibility

problem ,inadequate tourist facilities in the area, improper

policy implementation and planning ,lack of marketing and

promotional strategy among others are the various problems

affecting the study area. All the above mentioned needs to be

addressed in the course of this work.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To identify the various natural attractions in baruten local

government.

To examine the level of tourist patronage to the area.

To document the current level of development of the attraction

in the study area.

To investigate the developmental challenges of the attractions

in the study area.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Mention the various natural attractions you know in baruten.

What is the relevance of this attraction to the people of

baruten.

What is the level of tourist patronage to the area.

How is the development of the attraction compare to other

attraction visited.

How is the current the level of the development of this

attractions compare to your previous visit.

What are the developmental challenges you know that affects

the study area.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The research work focuses on the survey of natural

attraction to tourism development in baruten local government

area of kwara state. This research work remains significant to

the fact that it has been able to culminate all the various

challenges via proffer solution to the study area and its

neighboring entities in order to ensure developmental progress

of such destination.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

The choice of natural attraction in baruten is based on the

fact that it has not attained international

recognition,dimension and prominence in the last few years due

to lack of government efforts at exploring field of tourism as

veritable means of sourcing for funds rather than being viable

means of revenue generation via tourism development of the

economy.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Tourism development refers to all the activities associated with

providing facilities for tourists in a destination. It involves

activities such as skills development, job and wealth creation,

and marketing. Marketing of various tourist destinations through

liaison, training and advice of local tourism businesses promotes

tourism development.

TOURISM

Tourism is an activity done by an individual or a group of

individuals, which leads to a motion from a place to another.

From a country to another for performing a specific task, or it

is a visit to a place or several places in the purpose of

entertaining which leads to an awareness of other civilizations

and cultures, also increasing the knowledge of countries,

cultures, and history

Tourism has a direct impact on the national revenue for all

touristic countries, it creates work opportunities, industries,

and several investments to serve and raise nations performance

and cultures, also distributes their history, civilization, and

traditions.

ATTRACTION

LITERATURE REVIEW

Tourism is a concomitant to sustainable development. It is a

great generator of economic wealth for developed countries like

United State America Germany, Japan, France and Canada. The

challenge of international tourism has been accepted by few

African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Egypt and

Algeria. These countries are now reaping the socio-economic and

psychological benefits that are associated with tourism

development via the natural endowment.

In Nigeria, little attention has been given to tourism

development (Ojo, 1978; Afolabi 1992). The reason for this is not

unconnected with the low economic structure as well as the rural

economic base of the country. However, the nation is very rich

both in ecology and culture. It has a wide variety of

biodiversity. It is equally blessed with many traditional

festivals and cultural attractions. On this note, Ikporukpo

(1993) noted that the multiplicity of cultures in the country

provides a good setting for the evolution of various cultural

heritage-based tourist facilities.

Without tourist attractions there would be no tourism

(Gunn1972:24). Without tourism there would be no tourist

attractions. Although a tautology, such an argument still points

to the fundamental importance of tourist attractions and the

attractiveness of places to tourism. Efforts at specificity often

reduce the simple concept of “tourist attraction” to exploitable

“resources” (Ferrario 1976:4), marketable “products” (Wahab et al

1976:38) and “images” (WTO 1980a, 1980b). or simply place

“attributes” (Witter 1985: 16) or “features” (Polacek and Aroch

1984: 17). Most researchers, however, agree that attractions are

the basic elements on which tourism is developed (Gunn 1979:48-

73, 1980a; Lundberg 1980:33-40; Pearce 1981:30-Z). In essence,

tourist attractions consist of all those elements of a

“nonhome”place that draw discretionary travelers away from their

homes. They usually include landscapes to observe, activities to

participate in, and experiences to remember. Yet it can sometimes

be difficult to differentiate between attractions and non-

attractions. Transportation (e.g., cruise liners), accommodations

(e.g., resorts), and other services (e.g., restaurants) can

themselves take on the attributes of an attraction, further

comp1icatin.g the distinction between various segments of the

tourism industry. At times, tourists themselves can even become

attractions (MacCannell 1976:130-l). MacCannell (1976:109)

proposes that a phenomenon must have three components to be

considered an attraction: a tourist, a site to be viewed, and a

marker or image which makes the site significant. These criteria

could enable virtually anything to become a tourist attraction.

Thus, “attraction” in its widest context would include not only

the historic sites, amusement parks, and spectacular scenery,

which are normally associated with the word, but also the

services and facilities which cater to the everyday needs of

tourists. Also included would be

the social institutions which form the basis for the very

existence of human habitation. Non-entertainment oriented

attractions have been variously referred to as “comfort

attractions” (Lew 1986a: 2 15), “conditional elements” (Hansen-

Verbeke 1986:86), or have been categorized into “services and

accommodations” (McIntosh and Goeldner 1984: 11) or the nebulous

“other” (Gunn 1979:58; Polacek and Aroch 1984: 17).

Although the importance of tourist attractions is readily

recognized, tourism researchers and theorists have yet to fully

come to terms with the nature of attractions as phenomena both in

the environment and in the mind (Gunn 1980a). An examination of

some of the research related to tourist attractions reveals a

consistent pattern of research questions and designs. The

following discussion summarizes the range of approaches employed

in the categorization of attractions, as revealed in recent

tourism

literature. The typologies, in part, reflect the nature of the

various disciplines involved. However, in the least the review

provides an initial step toward focusing on and understanding

tourist attractions. Tourism is conceived as an easy means of

boosting a national or regional economy, as it may bring

investment, create jobs, and promote sales of crafts and local

artifacts (Pandey et al., 1995: i). Increasingly, cities, and

nations are turning to tourism as an important element in their

economic portfolio. If it is handled appropriately, tourism can

also become an important engine for achieving broader social

goals (Crouch & Ritchie, 1999: 137). However, as a socio-economic

activity, tourism does not occur randomly. Some destinations

appear to be more successful than others in offering tourism

activities and in attracting tourists (Formica, 2000: 4). In

order to be successful in the competitive tourism market, tourism

planners need to clearly understand the difference between

attributes of tourism products and tourism attractions, and how

important they are. In some studies in tourism literature, the

word ‘attribute’ and ‘attraction’ were used interchangeably.

However, sometimes they have different connotations. For a non-

tourism product, the attributes are supposed to be its

attractions. Coca-cola, for example, its attributes include its

generic attributes, such as price, convenience to buy, and

package, and with its functional attributes being, for example,

quenching one’s thirst, and hotness. All the above attributes are

supposed to be Coca-cola’s attractions and vice versa. However,

for a tourist destination, despite the fact that all its

attributes can be deemed as its attractions, not all its

attractions are necessarily its attributes. According to Walsh-

Heron and Stevens (1990, cited by Prideaux, 2002: 381-382), a

tourism attraction is a “place, venue or focus of activities and

does the following: sets out to attract visitors, is a fun and

pleasurable experience, is developed to realize this potential,

is managed as an attraction to provide satisfaction to its

customers, provides appropriate facilities and may or may not

charge an admission fee”. From this point of view, tourism

attractions are highly related to tourism sites or activities in

a destination. However, from the point of view of the benefits

that visitors expect from visiting a destination, a destination’s

attributes such as price, service, and entertainment, are also

the destination’s attractions (Swarbrooke, 1999: 12).

Furthermore, a destination’s attraction has its own attributes,

and all its attributes are supposed to be an important source of

its attractiveness. Thus, the boundary between the attractions

and attributes of a destination is overlapped.

Tourism as a Tool for Economic Development in Nigeria

Tourism is widely acknowledged as an effective tool for socio-

economic development, because of the possible backward and

forward linkages with the rest sectors of the economy, which

allows it to facilitate employment opportunities, income, local

economic development, and enhance the quality of life (Hall,

2007). However, Hall (2007) argues that the extent to which these

benefits accrue to a nation crucially depends on local

conditions. Furthermore, Manwa (2012) argue that for tourism to

be sustainable the community has to benefit directly from it,

this will enable them to protect and conserve the resources upon

which it is based. This is further emphasized by Smith (2007)

that apart from the type of tourism, the extent to which tourism

confers economic benefits on any country also depends on the

expectations of the tourists and the host country’s ability to

provide appropriate and adequate facilities. And unless economic

policies to promote tourism remain a focus in developing

countries, tourism will not be a potential source of economic

growth (Ekanayake and Long, 2012).

This has been a problem for the developing countries with

inadequate infrastructure generally and tourism supporting

infrastructure in particular. There is no where the problem of

inadequate infrastructure is most pronounced than in Nigeria

where the dearth of infrastructure is compounded by the inability

to maintain the few existing ones and replicate infrastructure to

areas lacking in amenities usually outside of the capital and

major cities. In Nigeria, lack of infrastructures is most

pronounced in the rural areas where incidentally most of its

tourist sites are also located. Nevertheless, efforts at

developing infrastructure to support tourism in Nigeria, paltry

as these may be, happen only in the urban areas (Briedenhann and

Wickens, 2004). This is where and how tourism is expected to have

its most impact on economic development given the infrastructure

and income it can attract to rural Nigeria to spur economic

growth (Fayissa, Nsiah and Tadaese, 2007), and development in

rural areas and the regions (SEPO, 2006) In this regard, tourism

can facilitate the replication of infrastructure to the regions

and the rural areas of Nigeria, which are usually the areas which

lack amenities (Hawkins and Mann, 2007; SEPO, 2006).

While tourism presents developing countries like Nigeria with

huge opportunity and scope for economic diversification, efforts

should be made to manage possible adverse social and

environmental impacts. Although the quality of the environment,

both natural and man-made, is essential to tourism, this cannot

be taken for granted given the complex relationships that exist

between tourism and the environment (Mbaiwa, 2003). Many of these

impacts are linked with the construction of general tourism

enhancing infrastructure such as roads and airports, and of

tourism facilities, including resorts, hotels, restaurants,

shops, golf courses and marinas to name but a few. The associated

environmental problems, according to Giaoutzi and Nijkamp (2006),

have consequences for the quality and quantity of available

resources, which in the long run could undermine tourism

development. However, Yasong (2008) has argued that it is not

difficult to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism and clarify

associated benefits, and that this can be effectively done

through tourism planning. This is particularly the case in order

not to undermine the carrying-capacity of the biophysical

environment. In particular, tourism can also impact negatively on

the social fabrics of local economies where local culture such as

local celebrations, festivals, dance, and folklore amongst others

could be subsumed (Godfrey and Clarke, 2000).

Culture as Attractive Attribute to natural attraction

In the past decade, the fast growth of cultural tourism and

natural attraction visitation has been leading to some

researchers (Miller, 1997; Richards, 1996; Smith, 2003) argue

that cultural attractions have become the most important

attribute coupled with natural attraction, which motivates people

to travel. Rojek (1997) and Shenkar (2001) explain the fast

growth of cultural tourism by two reasons. Firstly, the

increasing affluence and disposable income has boosted tourism in

general, and in turn boosted cultural tourism as well. Secondly,

increasing levels of education have stimulated the demand for

cultural tourism and nature tourism in particular. In other

words, tourists are increasingly interested in the cultural and

natural aspects associated with a destination. Miller (1997: 7)

argued that cultural tourism has become the mass market in

tourism industry. Antolovic (1999, cited in McKercher, 2002: 30)

indicated that 70% of all Americans traveling to Europe seek a

cultural heritage experience (visit museum, historical monument,

and archaeological sites, etc), and that about two-thirds of all

visitors to the UK are seeking a cultural heritage tourism

experience as part of their trip. The World Tourism Organization

(WTO) asserted that the cultural tourism currently accounts for

37% of all tourists’ trips and that demand is growing by 15% per

annum (WTO, 1996, cited in Richards, 2001: 8). Cultural tourism

and nature tourism has already gained much attention from many

national and local governments as well. In Bali (Indonesia),

cultural tourism, which is the most important regional

development policy, has been adopted by the provincial government

of Bali (Yamashita, 1999: 178). The South Korean government

defined 1998 as the year of its historic and cultural tourism .

Beautiful Scenery as Attractive Attribute to tourist

Since the day when tourism became a mass market due to a number

of people starting to enjoy travel, tourism has been defined as a

“landscape industry”, and regarded as fully integrated with

destinations’ environment (Formica, 2000: 2). Tourists,

especially those in holiday mood, would like to enjoy their

destinations’ natural views and beautiful scenery. Formica (2000:

39) believes that natural vistas and appealing landscapes have

always been key attributes in determining the tourism

attractiveness of a destination. Lohmann and Kaim (1999)

conducted a representative survey of German citizens to evaluate

the importance of certain destination attributes. The attribute –

landscape, was found to be the most important even before price

considerations (Lohmann & Kaim, 1999: 61). A similar point of

view was taken by Hu and Ritchie (1993). In their study of

measuring the importance of destination attributes, they

concluded that natural beauty and climate were of universal

importance in defining destinations attractiveness (Hu and

Ritchie, 1993: 32). Thus, nature-based beautiful scenery could be

deemed as a meaningful attribute for a destination to attract

more visitors.

Accessibility as Attractive Attribute to a natural attraction

site

Accessibility can be defined as the “relative ease or difficulty

with which customers can reach the destination of their choice”

(Kim, 1998: 345). Tourists’ destination choice is often

influenced by convenience. Given a choice between similar

destinations, a tourist will tend to choose the more convenient

one. Thus, destinations, which are more proximate, would be more

likely to be accepted over destinations offering similar products

that are less proximate (McKercher, 1998: 39).

The accessibility of a destination is governed by a wide variety

of influences, many of which may depend on much broader economic,

social, or political concerns, such as regulation of the airline

industry, entry visas and permits, route connections, hubs,

landing slots, airport capacities, and competition among carriers

(Crouch & Ritchie, 1999: 149). From this point of view, it is

difficult to evaluate the accessibility of a destination, based

on supply-side. McKercher (1998: 39) suggested that accessibility

could be measured by the relative difference in the time, cost,

distance, or effort required to access different destinations,

based on demand-side. Accessibility might be an attractive

attribute for a certain destination. Zhang and Lam (1999: 591)

conducted a study of mainland Chinese travelers’ motivation to

visit Hong Kong, based on the ‘push-pull’ framework. Results

showed that accessibility of Hong Kong is one of the top three

significant pull attributes, which attract mainland Chinese to

Hong Kong.

2.3.7 Safety as Attractive Attribute to a destination.

Although there are many attributes associated with a destination,

safety is the major concern for tourists to make a decision on

destination selection. Pizam and Mansfeld (1996: 1) indicated

“safety, tranquility and peace are necessary conditions for

prosperous tourism . . ., most tourists will not spend their hard

earned money to go to a destination where their safety and well-

being may be in jeopardy”. It has been generally accepted that

safety and security at a destination are critical determinants of

its competitiveness. Elements of safety and security include

political instability/unrest, probability of terrorism, crime

rates, record of transportation safety, corruption of

police/administrative services, quality of sanitation, prevalence

of outbreak of disease, and quality/unreliability of medical

services (Dwyer and Kim, 2003: 397). In this age of

globalization, serious crime against tourists hits the

international headlines around the world and can destroy the

tourist destination in the short run (Christie & Crompton, 2001:

29). The 1992 Florida, USA, tourist murders, for example,

generated considerable media attention and resulted in a

significant decline of tourism (Dimanche & Lepetic, 1999: 19).

The travel and tourism industry is very sensitive to crisis

events. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, the volume

and pattern of tourism flows were affected and has not recovered

from that event. Particular destinations, such as the USA and

countries in the Middle East, are experiencing greater turndowns

in visitors than others because of tourists’ safety and security

considerations (Dwyer & Kim 2003: 397). Tourists’ perceptions of

safety and security to a destination will have a significant

effect on the destination’s image.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains methodological aspect of the research. The

particular issues discussed under the work include research

instrument, sampling technique, sample size, methods of data

analysis.

3.1 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT Data for this study therefore were

collected through the use of questionnaire [quantitative] the in

depth interview [qualitative] and the secondary sources of data

[existing literature].

A. QUESTIONNAIRE It consists of 2 sections. The first section is

section ‘A’ and was designed to tap demographic information from

the age, sex, educational qualification, marital status and

occupation.

Section ‘B’ has as its focus on the main objectives of the study.

At the end of the day 100 respondent were sampled in order to get

the need for the study.

B. INDEPTH INTERVIEW This was an oral interview conducted among

the staff of the local government. These sets of people were

included because of the post they are holding in the attraction

site. They are known as the staff of the destination area to give

detailed information on the issues under study.

C. SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

This involved examination of relevant publication that is

available on the research subject. This is very essential in

order to achieve the set objectives. It is believed that a

combination of these research techniques will make collations of

adequate data possible and ensure meaningful findings.

Research Design

The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study.

This method is most appropriate when one is studying a large

population, which involves the use of questionnaire on a selected

sample, which permits inferences and generalisation to the entire

population.

Population

The population to be sampled are the tourist,residents and

officials or the local governmet staff of the area.

Sample and Sampling Technique

Convenient sampling technique was used to select one thousand 100

respondents found in the area coupled with tourists and the

residents.

Research Instrument

The self-developed , modified questionnaire with weight

allotment of very high, high, avarege low, poor, as well as open

ended and closed ended questions will be used for the study.

Data Collection and Analyses

Data were collected with the aid of tour guide and the event

manager and are analysed

through the use of frequency counts, percentages and inferential

statistics of simple percentage methods