Sustainable Tourism and Socio-Cultural Life of Host Communities in Delta State

Abstract

The study examined sustainable tourism and socio-cultural life of host communities in Delta State. The study purposeswas to ascertained the relationship between ecosystem conservation, societal development, biodiversity protection, population control, human resources preservation and socio-cultural life of selected host communities in Delta State, Nigeria. Judgmental sampling technique was used to select and survey the opinions of 400 respondents across nine tourism sites in the State. Primary data were generated using structured questionnaire designed in likert-scale format. The data were analyzed using simple percentages and descriptive statistics, while empirical results (regression/correlation results) were generated using SPSS, version 23. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient used to conduct the reliability test of the research instrument produced reliability value of 90.8%. Results showed that each of the sustainable tourism principles (ecosystem conservation, societal development, biodiversity protection, population control, and human resources preservation) exerts significant impact on the socio-cultural life of members of host communities. The study concluded that effective application of sustainable tourism principles will largely enhance the social and cultural standards of living of host communities of tourism sites in Delta State. The study therefore recommends, among others, that: government should continually review and provide guidelines aimed at fostering environmental integrity and overall protection of the ecosystem; indices of societal development, including social welfare, should be given priority attention by Delta State government so as to engender positive influence on the socio-cultural life of the host communities; the maintenance of moderate population size is necessary for better socio-cultural life in sites in Delta State communities. The study made use of theory of modernization and collective action Theory