the impact of rural tourism on entrepreneurial development in Kaduna State

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Tourism is one of the essential sectors that can contribute to enhancing and sustaining the quality of life in rural areas. Leu (2019) mentioned that quality of life in rural area advance as rural community can get additional income from tourism activities. In addition, the development of the rural area, especially the quality of life, will be boosted in the form of sustainable businesses in the tourism village, which provides unique characteristics and added value for their products andservices (Alrawadieh & Alrawadieh, 2018). Hence, the development of the rural tourism area needs significant engagement on part of family enterprises and the tourism entrepreneur. In other words, rural tourism development is associated with entrepreneurship, which can facilitate economic growth and improve quality of life (Korsgaard & Müller, 2015). It is in line with Deller (2019) and Booth et al. (2020) who stated that one of the most significant aspects of local economic growth and quality of life is rural entrepreneurship. The need for tourism has grown in the recent years in the economy. This is as a result of new opportunities for business and income generation which exist in the sector. Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries today. In 1991 World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2002) define tourism as consisting of the activities of people who travel and stayed in a location outside their usual environment for no longer than one consecutive year for the purpose of leisure and business etc. Rural tourism consists of tourism activities in rural areas. Lane, (2003) states that it includes farm-based tourism, educational travel, health tourism, “ethnic” tourism and ecotourism. Tourism activities includes holidays, business trips, visiting friends or relatives, travel for education, sport, health or religion and the movement of people within or outside of their own country. In some of the developing countries with effective natural and man-made tourism supporting and enhancing infrastructure have been able to develop their tourism sector and seize the attendant advantages. Nigeria as a country has numerous business and investment potentials with vibrant and dynamic human and natural resources. Tapping these resources require the ability to identify potentiality useful and economically viable fields of endeavours. The need for economic diversification in most developing countries is overwhelming due to their mono-cultural economic characteristics where only one commodity exchange from which these countries could reconcile their internal and external balances. Nigeria is one of such a country seeking to diversity its economy away from crude oil production to maximize employment and income generating are often marginalized despites, their idyllic tourism assets. Adebayo et al. (2010) posit that for Nigeria to diversify her oil revenue base with greater emphasis on oil revenue sources and further increase entrepreneurial capability of the citizenry which the government had taken into cognizance since 2003, tourism as an aggregate of businesses stands the chance to fill the gap. World Tourism Organization (2002) asserts that sustainable tourism can be a tool for economic development and poverty reduction. It also adduces that tourism provides opportunities for selling additional goods and service, create opportunities for local economic diversification of personal and marginal areas (World Tourism Organization, 2002).Nigeria has huge tourism entrepreneurship potentials which can benefit economies of rural and urban areas, if Nigeria gets its tourism sector right; it will serve as an employer of labour asideagriculture through innovative entrepreneurship development. The role of tourism in entrepreneurship has gained increasing importance as it has led to the opening up of new business opportunities in the rural areas. The benefits include the creation of rural employment, development of infrastructures, community development, and social integration e.t.c. In general, rural tourism based entrepreneurship covers all activities and businesses which are involved in the provision of tourism based services or products. Entrepreneurs play an important role in sustaining rural tourism and formulation of sustainable strategies being the initiators of the tourism industry and the engine of the local development. But there are challenges to push the entrepreneurial marketing in to backward mobilization that makes frail in economic development. According to Siemens (2007) businesses in rural regions face challenges associated with their location which are not faced by operations in urban areas. These challenges can include lack of paved roads, limited access to banking, electricity, and poor infrastructure development. Moreover, tourism is one of the high growth sectors that seriously affected by skill deficiencies (UNWTO, 2019). Since rural tourism is one of the most competitive industries, it seems necessary to find possibilities for competitive advantage. In the meantime, entrepreneurs who engaged in rural tourism follow innovative practices for to enhance the competitive advantage of their businesses. Thestudy seeks to appraise the impact of rural tourism on entrepreneurial development in Kaduna State. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Entrepreneurship in rural tourism has attracted only limited research. Rural tourism has been instrumental for the local socio-economic development however it has encountered enormous challenges which includes: lack of infrastructure, lack of reliable transport, lack of accommodation, lack of government support, lack of manpower, lack of security, problems of communication network inhibiting its success. Surugiu (2009) also addressing the issue of entrepreneurship in rural tourism, identifying its potential to stimulate the rural areas. Entreprenuer in rural tourism require to focus on innovative marketing strategies to achieve greater competitiveness (Komppula, 2014). According to Gregoric & Pajic (2016) in order to support entrepreneurship in tourism, there should be a united awareness of the needs, opportunities, knowledge and coordination involved in directing small and medium entrepreneurs in their specific field of development. There should be more initiatives and common partnership between small and medium entrepreneurs and the government on all levels and all types of business influencing tourism and being part of the tourism product. This is necessary to achieve to utilize the tourist market potential and thus gain a more competitive position on the international market. The entrepreneurial marketing has enhanced the competitiveness of rural tourism entrepreneurs by competing successfully in the market place with competitors based on differentiation and lowering cost. So that rural tourism is the one in which the greatest degree of involvement is needed by the entrepreneurial sector in formulating sustainable strategies Rural tourism is strategically positioned to contribute positively to rural development. Hence its role in the development of entrepreneurial business is inevitable. Tourism leads to the creation of new business opportunities which can be exploited for the development of new businesses. Also for entrepreneurship to flourish there must be the policy framework to support entrepreneurship in the rural tourism 1.3 Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are: 1. To examine the impact of infrastructure limitations on rural tourism development in Kaduna State 2. To investigate the role of government support and policy in addressing the challenges of rural tourism on enterprenuers 3. What are the effect of poor transport system and accommodation on rural tourism and entrepreneurial development in kaduna state 4. To assess the current security problems facing rural tourism in Kaduna State 1.4 Significance of the Study The study seeks to assess the impact of rural tourism on entrepreneurial development in Kaduna State. The significance of this study is to help sensitize tourism professionals as well as policy makers in the field on the impact of rural tourism on entrepreneurial development in the state, so that challenges can be identified and recommendations may be made towards more effective rural tourism development. Also, Private sectors, individual, government will also benefit as it will serve as relevant document which will give them more insight on rural tourism development and its economic benefits. This research work contributes to knowledge which will be of benefit to students and researchers in the field of tourism as well as guide in order to carryout research related to the topic. 1.5 Scope of the Study Tourism is a recent industry and faster growing industry in state like Kaduna where effort are being madetop city and center like hotel and games facilities. In tourism, development has been centered in urban area which need to changes in order to harness the rural tourism which are more natural and could attract more visitors. A lot of benefit could be derived in rural tourism through the establishment of rural populace and local community as well as private participation in tourism investment through small scale schemes would experience of rural economic benefit from economical, socially and otherwise. Rural tourism are based on image of the villages life, rural place have traditionally been associated with a special rural function, agricultural sparsely been populated area dispersed settlement pattern and rurality is known in terms of pheripherality remoteness and dependence on rural economic activities. The rural are being used to provide tourism experience and law business are pursuing market oriented approaches to the new era of commodification in rural environment Kaduna state is richly endowed with a wide range of natural and cultural resources most of which are largely untapped. The availability of these potentials has made the development of rural tourism industry in Kaduna state to undergo a gradual evolution, which each phase reflecting its growing importance in the economy of the state. The scope of the study is on the need to assess the impact of rural tourism on entrepreneurial development in Kaduna State. The study covers some selected areas in Kaduna Metropolis. 1.6 Research Questions The objectives of the study are: 1. What are the impact of infrastructure limitations on rural tourism development in Kaduna State 2. What are the role of government support and policy in addressing the challenges of rural tourism on entrepreneurs’ 3. What are the effect of poor transport system and accommodation on rural tourism and entrepreneurial development in kaduna state 4. What are the current security problems facing rural tourism in Kaduna State