Tourism in Rural Areas – A Key to Broad-Based Empowerment, Preservation, and Exposure of Our Cultural Heritage

Tourism has emerged as a leading economic sector worldwide and has boosted trade and opened up countries and geographic areas that lagged in economic development. For many countries, tourism is a significant vehicle for economic progress that generates employment, foreign exchange, tax revenues, and contributes to poverty alleviation. Tourism is the world’s fastest growing industry after agriculture.

Players in the tourism sector can contribute significantly to improving livelihoods and development of communities through sourcing and subcontracting them as expert. Can we say the same for our Local Government Area, State or our Country at this moment in time? No! Why can’t we be positive in this respect? Why are we always lagging? Why have we continued to fail to take our rightful place in the committee of nations? A lot of developing countries who are not as rich as we are culturally, economically, and in human resources are all making huge returns from international and local tourism, and we are here allowing our resources to rot and be forgotten.

We cannot continue to depend solely on oil revenue and investments in the oil sector and buying and selling as a consuming nation. There are obvious links that exist between the tourism industry and progression and course of economic development. An overview of the industry’s economic role at the international and national scale will enable us to understand the benefits of local and regional involvement in the tourism industry.

We emphasize the need to develop a more rigorous understanding of the evolving tourism industry and tourism marketing and how they influence processes of local economic development. Nigeria faces the usual difficulties, complexities, and troubles like other developing countries in attaining and attracting external financial sources, which would support and assist in solving its problems related to unemployment, lack of investments and finance, gaps in foreign exchange, and deficit in balance of payments.

Tourism can play a crucial and constructive role for enhancement of welfare in this case, by providing external financial contribution that would revitalize and stimulate the economy in short terms and consequently, enliven the socio-economic life of the community, state or country and its worldwide relations.

Rural tourism is first and foremost the responsibility of the Local Government as the infrastructural development of an entire local government can be built around tourism. How can this come to play?

Functions of Local Government In Relation to Tourism.

At the level of local government, the role of elected members and officers is to translate the principle of tourism development into action to help to improve the lot of the area. Local Governments have two principal functions relating to tourism: The ‘enablement’ of tourism development, and the management of tourism’s effects.

To enable tourism development, local governments should support economic development initiatives, such as funding for tourism, organisations, business feasibility studies relating to help develop local amenities and attractions, such as zoos, art galleries, parks and reserves, and cultural activities,

They should promote events such as cultural and sporting festivals and as well as plan utilities such as transport networks, waste management, and environmental issues. Aside these it is also the responsibility of the local administrations to provide amenities and attractions that encourage event tourism.

‘Enablement’ of tourism by Local Government can be defined as more than just the promotion and marketing of a region. By enabling tourism, the Local Government will advance economic development opportunities through tourism. Local government initiatives will include public relations, support for tourism marketing organisations and trusts, promotional and information activities, sister city links, research, training, festivals, events, and entertainment.

Benefits of Tourism

Tourism is advocated as a way for rural regions to build and diversify their economies. Tourists bring ‘fresh money’ into a host economy, and this initial spending by tourists has a multiplier effect, providing increased income and employment for residents as tourism operators spend their earnings. Tourism also provides employment. As a service industry, tourism is labour intensive and, as with income generation, has similar multiplier effects on employment.

Enabling visitor growth and tourism development have not been looked into seriously as a  function of local government, who have often seen their role as limited to providing the utilities and amenities, which are always never available due to lack of funds.

Tourism can be more actively supported by local government as part of initiatives to spark regional economic and development opportunities in a local Government area. Local authorities should recognise that tourism brings economic, social and even biophysical benefits to host communities. Tourism is also seen as an area of investment that allows councils to fulfil their dual responsibilities of economic development and the provision of facilities and services for local communities, as well as for visitors and the industry itself.

It will be a great ground breaker for local authorities to begin to emphasize tourism’s role in rural and regional economic development, due largely to the sectors above-average growth potential.

Collaborative Efforts Between Public and Private Industry Players

As the tourism industry is highly fragmented, collaborative efforts between public and private sectors can foster more successful economic opportunities. Amenities and attractions are part of the core utilities local government should provide for tourism. ‘Add-on’ services and facilities should include parks and amenity areas, sporting fields and recreational facilities, public toilets, visitor information facilities, and camping grounds among many others.

The positive effect for any local Government that goes into partnership with the private sector to embark on the above infrastructure is the provision of very high level of employment for the locality thereby curbing urban migration and vices for unemployed youths which has become an economic and social concern. Urban migration is largely a function of lack of job opportunities at the rural level. After all, what is the living condition of those who leave the comfort of their rural home to the cities in search of greener pastures?

 —Oluwole Jerome Ajakaiye, a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors of the United Kingdom writes from Bristol, United Kingdom. He can be reached at: oluajax@gmail.coom