Socio-Economic Contributions of Iyara Cultural Festival to Sustainable Tourism Development in Ijumu, Kogi State, Nigeria

This study examines the socio-economic contributions of Iyara cultural festival to sustainable tourism development in Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State Nigeria. Descriptive and cross sectional survey research design, with a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative approach was adopted for the study. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents for the study. Questionnaires were administered to gather research information. The instrument had a minimum reliability coefficient of r = 0.79. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, frequency count, mean and standard deviation. The study established that there was a high influence of cultural innovations on the Iyara festival to sustainable tourism development; all the ten items yielded high mean scores between 2.20 and 3.64. Furthermore, there was a high level of social contributions on the Iyara festival to sustainable tourism development, all the ten items yielded high mean scores between 2.23 and 3.64. There was a high level of economic contributions on the Iyara festival to sustainable tourism development, all the ten items yielded high mean scores between 2.30 and 3.40. Finally, there was a high level of perception of cultural innovations on the Iyara festival to sustainable tourism development; all the ten items yielded high mean scores between 3.24 and 3.67. Based on these findings, the study concluded that socio-economic contributions and cultural innovations of Iyara festival have a significant influence to determine sustainable tourism development in Ijumu Local Government Area.