ASSESSMENT OF DEMAND FOR ECOTOURISM  HOLIDAY TRAVEL  AMONG UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN MEMBERS OF STAFF

 

Funmilola Ajani

Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Olubukola M. Oluyode

Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Johnson E. Kalu

Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

 

 

ABSTRACT

Nigeria is endowed with great ecotourism sites such as Obudu Ranch Resort and Waterfalls,  which  have attracted both local and international tourists’ patronage. Despite the fact that the importance of recreation cannot be over-emphasized, most Nigerians hardly go on holidays. The objective of this study is to assess the demand for ecotourism   holiday travel among University of Ibadan members of staff . Respondents for this study comprised academic and non-academic members of staff of the University of Ibadan. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to draw respondents for the study. Out of the fourteen Faculties in University of Ibadan, a total of four (29%) were randomly selected. In the second stage, 57% of the Department in each Faculties were sampled. The third stage involved a stratification of the Departmental staff into academic and non-academic. Thirty percent of the members of academic and non-academic staff were sampled. Data were analysed using descriptive , Chi-square and  PPMC analyses. The respondents who had positive perception about ecotourism is 52.8%.  Higher percentage (46.6%) of respondents visit ecotourism sites annually. Valley and hills were the least demanded ecotourism site. There was no association or relationship between the income of the respondents and their demand for ecotourism travel. Significant relationship were drawn between demographic characteristics and demand for Ecotourism holiday of the respondents. There is significant relationship between respondent perception about ecotourism and demand for travelling to ecotourism site. Busy office schedule and low income ranked highest among the ten constraints documented  and possible recommendations were drawn.

Keywords:  Water-based recreation, University of Ibadan, Ecotourism demand, Academic and  non-academic staff, awareness level.                                          

                 

 

INTRODUCTION

Tourism is identified as an effective way to revitalize the economy of any destination and widely acknowledged as one of the fastest growing industry globally (Long, 2012). Ecotourism has attracted increasing attention in recent years not only as an alternative to mass tourism, but has a means of economic development and environmental conservation . It  accounts for a large share of some countries’ gross domestic product, and so contributes to livelihood of many people, as in Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia (Isaacs, 2000). It is often perceived as a mechanism for sustainable tourism development especially in countries with great ecotourism potentials (Weaver, 2001). Accordingly, ecotourism in the last decade has gained popularity and at the same time enveloped into a worldwide phenomenon that shows no sign of slowing down (Srinivas, 2010).   

Nigeria is endowed with great ecotourism potentials such as Obudu Ranch Resort, Waterfalls, Warm spring among others, which have attracted both local and international tourists’ patronage. Both public and private agencies that provide and manage recreational facilities must be concerned with the demand for the services they provide (Obinna et al., 2009). Demand in the recreational sense refers to the number of persons taking part in a particular recreational activity and hence is manifested as a demand for facilities (Roberts, 1974). Research has shown that people that take part in recreational activities, particularly outdoor, have improved physical wellness, fewer doctor visits, and normal blood pressure than those who did not. This therefore indicates reduced stress level and better job performance (Laura, 2005; Ajani, 2015).

Despite the advantages present in recreational activities, Nigerians have negative attitude to recreation, possibly because most of them are ignorant of its health, social and economic benefits (Obinna et al., 2009). Nigeria is blessed with a number of tourist centres, notably Kainji Lake National park, Erin-Ijesha Waterfall, Arinta Waterfall, Aketa Lake, Idanre hills, Turan trench and Okomu National Park among others. Till date, their patronage is still minimal due to lack of proper awareness, difficulties in terms of accessibility and low level of development among other factors.

The importance of recreation cannot be over-emphasized; studies involving both outdoor and computer stimulated approaches showed that natural environments in general have a number of psychological benefits compared to urban settings (Ajani, 2015). A great number of studies have been carried out on tourism and tourist activities. For instance, Elkins et al., (2011) carried out a research on the contribution of campus recreational sports participation to sport perceived sense of campus community. He reported that University recreation centers create an environment that foster social relationships and integration which can help acclimate new students to campus life and build a sense of campus community. Ojewola (2008) also did a study on sustainable management of University of Ibadan Awba dam and zoological garden for tourism development. Furthermore, Ashbullby et al., (2013) study revealed that families use beach visits in general for improving psychological and physical health but none has dealt with the demand for recreation among the educational personnel. It is therefore imperative to conduct a study that will show the linkage between demand for recreation and constraint to demand for recreation of members of staff in the University of Ibadan and based on the findings, proffer solutions.

The broad objective of this work is to assess the demand for ecotourism   holiday travel among University of Ibadan members of staff (Academic and Non-Academic) while the specific objectives of this study are to assess the level of awareness of ecotourism among the staff members, to assess the most visited tourism based centre and  to identify hindrances debarring the respondents from going on ecotourism   holidays. 

 

METHODOLOGY

Study Area

University of Ibadan was founded in 1948 and is the oldest and one of the prestigious Nigerian Universities It is located five miles (8 kilometers) from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in western Nigeria. It was originally called University College, Ibadan, then affiliated with London University. In 1962, the name was changed to the current form; the University of Ibadan sometimes called UI. The University offers academic and professional programs at doctoral, masters, diploma and certificate levels through academic Departments in the Faculties of Agriculture, Arts, Education, Science, Social Science, Technology, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, the College of Medicine, and some academic institutes and centers. The University also has the largest number of postgraduate students in the country. The University motto is ‘‘for knowledge and sound judgment’’.

 Figure 1: Map of University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria

 Source: Adapted from Ajani (2015)

 

Respondents of the Study

Respondents for this study comprised academic and non-academic staff of the University of Ibadan.

 Sampling Procedure and Sample Size

A multi-stage sampling technique was used to draw respondents for the study. In the first stage, out of the fourteen Faculties in University of Ibadan, a total of four (29%) were randomly selected. The Faculties selected were Sciences, Technology, Agriculture and Forestry and The Social Sciences. In the second stage, 57% of the Department in each Faculties were sampled, which give a total of 4 in Faculty of technology , 5 In Faculty of Sciences, 3 in Faculty of social sciences and 5 in Faculty of Agriculture. This gave a total of 17 Departments on the overall. The third stage involved a stratification of the departmental staff into academic and non-academic. Thirty percent of the members of academic and non-academic staff were sampled across the selected Departments. This gave a total of 103 Academic staff and 77 Non-academic staff. A total of 180 respondents were therefore sampled for the data. However, only 176 instruments were eventually subjected to statistical analysis, giving a return rate of 97.7%.

Sources of Data

The data for the study comprised primary data and it was collected using questionnaire so as to obtain information from members of staff (academic and non-academic) of the University. The administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on respondents’ demographic characteristics, ecotourism related characteristics, perception about ecotourism, level of demand of ecotourism sites and constraints to their demand for travelling.

Measurement of Variables

• Demographic characteristic variables were measured with open and close ended questions. Close ended questions provide suitable list of responses from respondents. The open ended questions were designed to afford the respondents the opportunity to give responses without being limited to any option.
• Ecotourism related characteristics were measured using dichotomy (Yes/No), short answers, open and close ended questions.
• Perception about ecotourism was measured on a 5-point scale, with strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree. The scores of 5 to1 attached respectively for positive statements and a reverse for negative statements.
• A 12-point rating scale was used to rate respondents demand for travelling  to ecotourism site where 1 is the absolute demand and 12 is the least demand.
• Constraints to demand for  ecotourism holiday travel of the respondents  were measured as follows; Not serious=3, Mildly serious=2,  Serious=1, Not a Constraint=0.

Data Analysis

Data obtained were analyzed using the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The data were mainly expressed as descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean and percentages. Chi-square and PPMC test was used to assess whether any significant difference exist between demographic variables and ecotourism related characteristics and demand for ecotourism holiday travels. PPMC techniques were employed to draw relationship between variables

RESULTS

Table 1 :  Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Variables	Frequency	Percent(%)	Mean±SD
Age(in years) ≤  30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 Above 70	19 59 65 26   6   1	10.8 33.5 36.9 14.8   3.4   0.6	43.02±9.71
Sex Male Female	89 87	50.6 49.4
Marital status Single Married Widowed	22 150     4	12.5 85.2   2.3
Highest Educational Status SSCE OND HND B.Sc. M.Sc. PhD	1   12   13   42   29   79	0.6  6.8  7.4 23.9 16.5 44.9
Religion Christianity Islam Traditional	138   33     5	78.4 18.8   2.8
Race/tribe Yoruba Igbo Hausa Others	147     7     3   19	83.5   4.0   1.7 10.8
Staff category Academic Non-Academic	102   74	58.0 42.0
Designation Junior Senior Professor	49 119     8	27.8 67.6   4.5
Family size 1-3 4-6 7-9	57 108   11	32.4 61.4                                  6.3	4.09±1.51

 

Fig. 1:  Percentage of respondents that had gone on tourism before

Fig. 2:    Ecotourism site visited by respondents

 

Fig. 3:   Respondents reasons for visiting ecotourism sites

 

Fig. 4:  Percentage distribution of respondents who go for ecotourism holidays according to gender

Fig. 5.   Respondents frequency of visitation to ecotourism site

 

                                    Table 2      Distribution of Respondents’ Perception about Ecotourism

PERCEPTION (N=176)	SA	A	UD	D	SD	mean
Ecotourism holiday travel is not necessary in an academic environment	8.5	14.2	6.3	27.8	43.2	3.81
Lack of opportunity to ecotourism holiday travel is not beneficial for university staff	14.2	16.5	20.5	30.7	18.2	3.22
Ecotourism will provide avenue for university worker to refresh their mental state	33.0	48.3	9.7	2.3	6.8	1.89
Visiting the natural environment is a necessity for me	29.0	34.7	14.8	15.9	5.7	3.65
Ecotourism will help the university worker to rejuvenate their social well being	44.9	34.7	12.5	4.5	3.4	4.13
Ecotourism is highly destructive and should never be encouraged in academic environment	4.5	6.3	7.4	34.7	47.2	4.13
Ecotourism causes environmental degradation to host communities	2.3	6.8	8.5	47.2	35.2	4.06
Ecotourism encourages ostentatious  display of wealth in the community	25.0	33.0	22.2	9.1	10.8	2.38
Ecotourism encourages cultural conflict	6.3	15.9	14.8	26.1	36.9	3.72
Ecotourism increases bond between researchers in the academic environment	34.7	33.0	21.0	6.8	4.5	3.86
Ecotourism  brings about positive change in the academic environment	36.9	40.9	12.5	8.5	1.1	4.03
Ecotourism  build environmental and cultural awareness	45.5	42.0	5.1	4.5	2.8	4.23
Ecotourism  does not provide positive experience for university staff	9.1	13.6	10.8	31.8	34.7	3.69
Ecotourism provide direct financial benefits for conservation	28.4	26.1	23.9	16.5	5.1	3.56
Ecotourism  recognizes the rights and spiritual belief of the people in the host community	25.0	41.5	24.4	7.4	1.7	3.81
Ecotourism is becoming unnecessary in Nigeria	10.8	22.2	27.8	19.9	19.3	2.77

Positive statement: SD=1, D=2, U=3, A=4, SA=5,     Negative statement: SD=5, D=4, U=3, A=2, SA=1