Assessment of the Socio Economic Impact of Tourism on Business Owners at Idanre Hills Ondo State, Nigeria

This study examined the socio-economic impact of tourism on business owners in Idanre metropolis. The aim of this study was to identify the tourism supporting businesses and the impact the tourism activities at Idanre hill has on these businesses. The study area Idanre is well known for its tourism features in the country. The sample frame consisted of 150 business owners polled from different area within the study area. Purposive Sampling of businesses established because of the presence of the tourist site was employed in data collection as well as 150 self-administered structured questionnaires and personal interviews. The data obtained were analysed by the means of descriptive statistics. Results shows that different businesses were established to support the tourism activities and the major businesses include food canteens and bars, cyber café, motorcycles transportation, motels, photography shop, general stores, snacks shops, recharge card sales shop, vulcanizes and other petty trading. When grouped into different categories, further reveals that, 16.7% of businesses in Idanre are information and communication (call centers and photography outlets), 19.3% are Transportation (especially motorcycles), 18.0% are catering, and 4.0% are accommodation, while 42.0% are into general merchandise (souvenir and essential needs). The analysis shows that a positive impact in terms of empowerment 32%, job creation 28%, and improved standard of living 40% has been seen by the Business owners in Idanre tourist site. This study has shown that Idanre hills have a positive impact on business owners in Idanre.