DESTINATION ATTRIBUTES AND TOURISTS’ CHOICE OF VISITOR ATTRACTIONS IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA
Keywords:
Visitor Attractions, Accessibility, AffordabilityAbstract
The study investigated the relationship between destination attributes and tourists’ choice of destination in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research generated data from 322 visitors/tourists found within the selected visitor attraction sites in Bayelsa, State during the survey with the use of a well-structured questionnaire made. The result of the inferential statistical analysis using SPSS showed that the three destination attributes (visitor attraction, accessibility, and affordability) had positive and significant relationship with tourists’ destination choice. The study concluded that though destination attributes is important in decision making of tourists when seeking for where to spend their quality time, the level of influence these attributes have is to a high level extent. It was therefore recommended that, the local government and community stakeholders should invest heavily in awareness creation for visitor attraction sites in Bayelsa state as this will help showcase the attributes at their disposal, the host community should be carried along with tourism developmental plans as no tourist want to encounter a hostile community during visit, the facilities should be developed and maintained so as to appeal to visiting tourists, the prices for their product and services should be pocket friendly as most local tourists cannot afford them, and the access to the attraction sites should be developed and maintained.
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