Challenges of Community-based Ecotourism Development in Southern Eastern Nigeria: Case Study of Iko Esai Community

The research assessed the challenges of community-based ecotourism (CBE) in Iko Esai Community, Cross River State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling method was adopted for the study. Two wards were randomly selected from four wards in the study area and with sample size of 5.57% of total population, 150 structured questionnaires were administered for data collection. Data were analysed using frequency tables and chi-square analysis in STATVIEW version 5.0.1 at 5% probability level. The results indicated that the challenges militating against CBE in the area were lack of ecotourism marketing (P = .0496), limited access to funds (P = .0004), negative impact of tourism on the indigenes (P = .0003) and poor infrastructural development (P = .0483). Although results from the respondents indicated that conflicts between stakeholders, absence of capacity building and balanced sharing of benefit between tourism operators and the communities, the chi-square analysis indicated that these challenges significantly limited CBE in the area. The indigenes exhibited willingness to develop CBE in the area but their effort has been frustrated by these challenges. Thus there should be active participation and collaboration with stakeholders for the development of CBE in the area while encouraging the full involvement of the community in the development process.