1.1 Introduction
Ecotourism has now been debated in theory, and attempted in practice, for at least two decades. Definitions differ in detail (Buckley, 2009; Donohoe & Needham, 2006; Weaver & Lawton, 2007) but all agree that ecotourism is a practical as well as theoretical construct. Its aims are to change real-world operations in the tourism industry, as well as improving our understanding of tourism as a social phenomenon. There does not seem to be any previous attempt to address this issue. This contribution proposes an analytic framework for such an endeavour, assesses available data as far as possible, and endeavours to identify the research required to improve future evaluations.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Ecotourism is a subset of the tourism industry that reflects an ethos of responsible involvement with the environment and with local cultures. Ecotourism includes, but is not limited to, nature hiking, diving, wildlife viewing, and cultural tourism, usually with some attention given to the ecosystem, biodiversity education, or sustainability. Since then, ecotourism has been one of the fastest growing sectors of global tourism. Ecotourism has been widely promoted as an important conservation tool and one way for people to have a positive impact on the environment. Ecotourism has the potential to improve public education on cultural and biological diversity, conserve wild habitats, and improve economic conditions for host nations. However, whether or not ecotourism actually provides the benefits it claims remains debatable, as few reliable monitoring programs have yet been implemented (Buckley 2009).
Much of ecotourism includes an aspect of wildlife viewing, which differs significantly from other situations in which people may encounter wild animals. Zoos and animal parks, for example, make efforts to house animals in species-appropriate social groups and enclosures, but they remain captive animals in artificial settings. With wildlife viewing at an ecotourism site, however, visitors must go to the animals and encounter them on their own terms. In most cases, ecotourists are aware of the challenges inherent in viewing wildlife in their natural setting, and ecotourism companies are careful to note that seeing wild animals is never a given.
Among the animals commonly sought as part of ecotourism are the nonhuman primates. The long association between primates and human settlements in many parts of the developing world means they often number among the species available for tropical ecotourism excursions. Primates are generally well known to the public, sociable, and entertaining to watch, and their physical and behavioral similarities to humans make them favorites for tourists. Ecotourism is well established with the macaques and orangutans in Southeast Asia, mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in East Africa, and baboons in East and Southern Africa, and many other sites around the globe offer visitors a chance to see primates in their natural habitat. With nearly 60 percent of all primate tax a threatened with extinction (IUCN 2014), the opportunity to see these creatures in the wild could provide an important boost to their conservation.
Therefore, in Federal University Oye-Ekiti where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Awareness and Perception of Ecotourism among Students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Regulation of visitor behaviour is an important approach to address the management problems at recreational sites as ecotourists were likely to view management actions as acceptable and regulations as attainments of certain outcomes (Frost and McCool, 1988). Environmentally destructive tourism development has lead to number of problems like water pollution, erosion of soils, destruction of natural habitat and to some extent cultural pollution (Mathur and Chowdhary, 1999). Development of tourism activities are often accompanied by a host of negative impacts on ecology, environment and socio-economy of the host communities/destinations (Pleumaron, 1992; Mathiesion and Wall, 1982; Butler, 1990; Nelson, 1994).
Natural resources refer to functional utility that social groups derive from the environment. It is a problematic term because of attribution of utility and value to nonhuman world is one of the primary means by which dominant social groups impose order and control upon the world (Bridge, 2009). The socio economic and socio environmental impact of tourism in the developing countries highlighted that tourism is an economic and industrial activity in which many individuals, firms, organisations, cooperation‟s and associations are engaged and is directly concerned to many others (Negi, 1990). The tourism industry in India is associated with various problems and various measures for removal of these problems were suggested and analysed for tourism promotion (Singh, 2003).
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Awareness and Perception of Ecotourism using Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To explore the effects of ecotourism on Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti
- To find out the level of Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti aware about Ecotourism
- To examine the students' perception of ecotourism in Federal University Oye-Ekiti
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What are the effects of ecotourism on Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti?
- What is the level of Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti aware about Ecotourism?
- What is the students' perception of ecotourism in Federal University Oye-Ekiti?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
- H0: There is no significant effect of ecotourism on Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti
- H1: There is a significant effect of ecotourism on Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti
1.7 Significance of Study
Tourism is less environmentally destructive than other forms of development and there are many significant effects which may be attributed by tourism. Ecotourism may or may not improve the socio economic conditions of developing countries by limited dollars, government directed financing, foreign vegetation, ownership of hotels and other facilities and non existing land use planning (Kusler, 1991). Tourism may provide economic benefits for conservation and this relationship is unsustainable if visitors reduce the viability of local ecosystems through the disturbance of wildlife (Lindsay et al., 2008).
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Awareness and Perception of Ecotourism using Students in Federal University Oye-Ekiti as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
