Contributions of Tourism to Community Development

This study focused on contributions of tourism to community development in Cross River State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population used for the study was 357 respondents comprising, 101 community leaders and 256 tourism staff. A 21-item questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used to elicit information from respondents and discussants. The questionnaire was analyzed using mean and standard deviation, t-test statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance and the FGD was analyzed qualitatively. Findings from the study revealed among others, that tourism attracted banking institutions and communication industries; thus contributed to a high extent in economic development and very high extent in social development of Cross River State, Nigeria. Some recommendation was made based on the research findings.