BEACH TOURISM IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF ELEGUSHI BEACH RESORT, LAGOS STATE

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><div><b>INTRODUCTION</b></div><div><br></div><div>Tourism is an indispensable tool for development in the country if not the whole world. Despite some of its negative effects on the environment, it is still the devil people cannot do without. A man should ever be ready booted to take his journey whenever tourism is mentioned. Tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industry employing hundreds of millions of people worldwide which explains the reasons why study of tourism and tourism research have become so important in not only the academic field but also for the economy on the whole.</div><div><br></div><div>Beach tourism also known as coastal tourism and recreation are important parts of the largest and most rapidly growing activity in the world (Houston, 1995). This topic embraces the full range of tourism, leisure and recreational oriented activities that take place in the coastal zone and the off shore coastal waters across the world/globe. They include coastal tourism development, for instance, the hotels, resorts, restaurants, food industry, vacation homes, second homes and so on, the infrastructural facilities supporting coastal development like retail businesses, marinas, dive shops, fishing tackle stores, recreational boating harbors, beaches, fishing facilities, boating, cruises, swimming, snorkeling and diving as well as public and private programmes affecting the aforementioned activities (Houston, 1995).</div><div><br></div><br><div>However, the relationship between coastal areas and tourism is as old as tourism itself. Early tourists favoured seaside locations and made journeys to fashionable resorts to bathe in sea water to take advantage of its alleged curative powers. This was a major departure in the eighteenth century from a time when the sea and coast were revered as places and even feared (Lenček and Bosker, 1999). For them, “the beach historically speaking is a recent phenomenon. In fact, it took hundreds of years for the seashore to be colonized as the preeminent site for human recreation and the coast continues to be one of the most important environments for tourism in contemporary times building on its established heritage”. Hall and Page, (2005) observed that;</div><div><i>“The coastal environment is a magnet for tourist although its role in leisure activities has changed in time and space, as coastal destinations have developed, waned, been reimaged and redeveloped in the twentieth century. The coastal environment is a complex system which is utilized by the recreationist for day trips, while juxtaposed to these visits are those made by the domestic and international tourists”.</i></div><div>Beach tourism is becoming a highly competitive business as nations actively seek to draw increased numbers of visitors and increased foreign earnings to the shores. However, given today’s rapid pace of communication, the existence of poor water quality or degraded or eroding beaches is quickly communicated among networks of travel agents and others in the tourism marketing business. Despite increased awareness of the economic and environmental significance, it is only in recent years that a substantial body of research has emerged.</div><div><br></div><div>Furthermore, beach tourism is considered to be one of the fastest growing areas of present day tourism which is epitomized by the ‘3Ss’-sun, sand and sea. In order to create safe, stable and attractive coastal environment with clean waters and healthy coastal habitats, it is necessary to develop well managed and sustainable beach tourism. Wong (1993), argued that “it has been established that tourism is environmentally dependent and the unique character of coastal environment gives to various types of tourism development. While there is increasing recognition of the coastal environment as a tourism resource, there is also the need to consider the sustainability of the environment as it continues to open up to the full gamut of tourism activities”. He pointed out that although there are many studies on coastal tourism, they tend to emphasize the tourism system rather than the interaction of tourism and environmental systems. </div><div>Tourism and recreation-related development is one of the major factors shaping development patterns in coastal zones of the nation and the world. Indeed, virtually all coastal and ocean issue areas affect coastal tourism and recreation directly or indirectly. Clean water, healthy coastal habitats, and a safe, secure and enjoyable environment are clearly fundamental to successful coastal tourism. Similarly, bountiful living marine resources (fish, shellfish, wetlands, coral reefs and so on) are of critical importance to.....</div> <br><p></p>