Structural equation modelling of tourism development in Nigerian eco-destinations: a framework for sustainable growth

Tourism in Nigeria presents significant opportunities and challenges for sustainability planning. This study examined the dynamics of tourism, focusing on eco-destination tourism attractions, ecotourism practices, and the interplay among the elements of tourism development. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 290 respondents, both local and international tourists. Descriptive statistics examined the responses on destinations’ tourism attractions and ecotourism practices, while Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyzed six hypothetical relationships between key tourism development elements. The findings showed that Ikogosi has the highest eco-attraction resources while Omu Resort is the most patronized. The ecotourism practices, including environmental conservation (119.90), eco-tour guide (143.90), eco-friendly bins (367.35), and eco-friendly transport (547.73) are all significant at a P-value of 0.05. SEM findings revealed a significant positive relationship between ecotourism practices and tourism development agenda, with tourism development agenda having a strong positive relationship with the socio-economic approach. Likewise, the socio-economic approach significantly and positively influences tourist satisfaction. Ecotourism practices and the socio-economic approach are negatively insignificant. Whereas, the tourism development agenda moderately influences tourist satisfaction, while ecotourism practices have a significant positive relationship with tourist satisfaction. The findings of the study revealed that current ecotourism practices do not directly contribute to socio-economic outcomes. The study concludes that the tourism development agenda promote satisfaction and socio-economic factors, while local community conflict and ecotourism practices call for intervention initiatives toward achieving long-term benefits in Nigerian eco-destination centers.