Attractiveness Model of Environmental Quality and Recreation: a case study of the River rine Regions of Nigeria

Abstract

The attention for tourism and recreation in advanced and underdeveloped Regions is the result of many socio-economic and environmental elements. This paper investigates with models why these regions consider tourism and recreation as a major source of an accelerated growth process. These socio-economic and environmental elements gave: (i) rise in leisure time (ii) rise in welfare especially the increase of discretionary income, (iii) increase accessibility of many regions and infrastructure etc. It is found that the rise of mass tourism and recreation has led to several negative externalities such as congestion, environmental decay, destruction of traditional social structures, increase in socio-economic Inequality and likes. The methodology and analysis were based on the local or regional attractiveness in the form of the set of physical and environmental qualities of a region. Discussion of result was based on assessment of sound methods and comparism of models. In conclusion, choice of attractiveness was made between environmental quality and quantity of tourism and recreational behaviour such as: family size, family composition, education, income etc., residential characteristics and characteristic of recreational areas such as: ecological quality accessibility etc. Their attractiveness activities have fairly high income elasticity with respect to the demand for tourism services. In Nigeria case that is full of uncertainty which should be a true life situation the models used for the analyses of these elements could not justify these uncertainties, therefore the work recommends the Gardener’s model of the Markovian Decision Theory to  take care of  these lapses.