Development Challenges and Tourism in the 21st Century in Cross River State, Nigeria

Tourism holds significant potential for driving economic growth, cultural preservation, and social development, particularly in regions with diverse attractions like Cross River State, Nigeria. However, despite its vast natural and cultural resources, the state faces numerous challenges that hinder the effective development of its tourism sector in the 21st century. This study investigates the key obstacles to sustainable tourism growth in Cross River State, including, evolving security threats, poor policy implementation, and inadequate infrastructure. Three objectives of the study, three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. Sustainable Tourism Development Theory was used to guide the study. Purposive sampling method was used to select 330 respondents to generate data to test the hypotheses. A twelve (12) item four points Likert scale questionnaire instrument was used for data collection. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that security threat significantly affect tourism development in Cross River State, poor policy implementation significant affect tourism development in Cross River State and inadequate infrastructure significantly affect tourism development in Cross River State. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that the Cross River State Government should invest in enhancing the capacity of security agencies to manage and mitigate security threats that deter tourists like introducing modern surveillance systems, better training, and community policing strategies also that government should invest in the development of accessible roads, airports, and public transport systems that connect key tourist sites in Cross River State that will enhances mobility and attracts more visitors.