Investigating Sporting Event as a Self-development Option Through Rural Tourism Development in Southeast, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the potentialities of rural sports (with emphasis on the popular yuletide sporting events) with regard to sports tourism development in rural communities of Southeast Nigeria. Four paradigms (perceptions, arrivals, impacts and safety issues) were used for this investigation. However, ten rural communities with a history of such events were conveniently sampled from the five states of the region in Nigeria. Yaro Yemene’s formula aided the sampling of 400 respondents for the distribution of semi-structured questionnaires. In addition, cluster and purposive sampling techniques were further used to select forty key informants for the study. Chi Square and descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of data. The result of the study shows that this yuletide sporting event has potentialities to enhance sports tourism development in the rural areas judging from the information from the four paradigms. The implication of the study is that it has opened another selfdevelopment option for rural communities in Nigeria. This study has contributed to responsive rural development in traditional African communities through the opportunities of local sports.

Keywords

• yuletide sporting event
• rural tourism development
• perception
• impact
• safety