Economic value of ecotourism to local communities in the Nigerian rainforest zone

This study estimates community willingness to contribute for an ecotourism improvement project and its determinants in the Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park, Nigeria. Personal interviews were conducted with 150 households in three communities located in the proximity of the park. The study showed that the respondents were willing to contribute an average of about one percent of their mean annual income. Determinants of the respondents’ willingness to contribute amount was estimated with the aid of the ordinary least squares and tobit models. The results showed that willingness to contribute were influenced by factors such as income, distance of respondents’ residence to the park, post-high school education, occupation and membership of an environmental conservation group. The results generated from this study will contribute to the knowledge of sustainable management of ecotourism projects.