Rural tourism sites, awareness and participation in Igalamela-Odolu local government area, Kogi state, Nigeria

Rural areas connect man to nature and contribute significantly to rural livelihood. The research assessed rural tourism sites and tourist participation in Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. Data were obtained through semi-structured questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel and Chi-squared test of freedom. Result revealed that males (91.7%) were the dominant tourist’s gender category. Most male (55.27%) tourists were singles, while 64% of the females were married with none in either gender reported as divorced. Observations revealed that most common age group was between 30-40 years old. A high percentage (55.27%) of tourists were students, while a large majority (98%) were literate. It was observed also that the recurrent visitors accounted for highest percentage (92.33%) and that public buses were the primary means of transportation for tourists. Recreation and nature sighting (23.92%) were common intentions for rural tourism, while holiday visits ranked first among the reasons for participation. A larger percentage (59.53%) of information about common challenges in rural tourism was conveyed verbally. One of the main challenges was inadequate information regarding restaurant availability for tourist utilization. With the satisfaction derived, tourists reported having a memorable and enjoyable experience, leading them to decide to revisit the destination. The relationship between the level of education was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). The study results indicated that tourism has both positive and negative impacts on tourist destinations. Keywords: destination community, environment, participation, rural tourism, tourists