Accessibility Constraints of Patronage of Tourist Sites in Ondo and Ekiti States, Nigeria

Abstract

The problem of inadequate accessibility to social facilities in developing countries is a serious concern, because of its negative impact on the economic potential derivable from these facilities. Of particularly interest is the accessibility constraint to tourist sites in Nigeria which has been identified to limit the economic potentials of these sites as catalyst of economic development. Hence, this paper examined the extent to which tourist sites in the study area are accessible. 32 tourist sites were identified in the study area out of which 12 were selected as sample size due to their prominence and recognition by the state governments. Purposive incidental sampling was employed in which a total of 358 respondents were interviewed in all the selected 12 tourist sites. The collected data were analyzed using frequency distribution and Likert scale.
Findings from the study showed that accessibility plays a very crucial role in the patronage of tourist sites in the study area (61.9%). While accessibility constraint factors identified by respondents include physical distance
(80.2%) and costs (69.6%). The study concluded that for the tourist sites to attract patronage and to realize the economic benefit from them, such sites should be made more accessible through the provision of good roads and other infrastructural facilities on the sites.

Keywords: Accessibility, Patronage, Tourist Sites, Infrastructural facilities