Financial Management Practices on Operational Efficiency and Sustainability of Tourism Centers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Tourism has emerged as a critical economic sector globally, contributing significantly to national GDP and employment generation. Nigeria's tourism industry, despite its immense potential, continues to underperform due to systemic challenges that impede operational efficiency and long-term sustainability. This study therefore assessed the financial management practices on operational efficiency and sustainability of tourism centers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised all Kwara State stakeholders in tourism businesses. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 250 participants for this study. A researcher-designed instrument was used for data collection. The reliability of the instrument was determined by adopting a test-retest method using PPMC and a reliability index of 0.81 was recorded. Percentage was used to analyse data for the study. The findings revealed that financial management practices do not really influence the sustainability of tourism centers in Kwara State. More so, organizational characteristics are moderate on the relationship between financial management practices and the operational efficiency in the sustainability of tourism centers in Kwara State. Based on the findings, it was concluded that tourism management in developing economies highlight the conditional nature of financial management effectiveness. It thus, recommended among others that tourism development agencies should focus primarily on addressing fundamental systemic constraints including infrastructure development, institutional framework strengthening, and policy implementation.