Predicting Community Willingness for Sustainable Mountain Tourism in Idanre Hills, Nigeria

Sustainable mountain tourism relies on residents' willingness for conservation, cultural interpretation and destination planning. This study identified socio-demographic predictors that affect residents' willingness to participate in mountain tourism development in Idanre Hills, Nigeria. An exploratory descriptive survey was conducted in Odo-Ode Idanre, Alade Idanre and Atosin Idanre using a multistage sampling procedure, with 380 households completing structured questionnaires. The analyses carried out included mean willingness scores, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and ordinal logistic regression. Most respondents were male (63.90%), married (56.50%), at the secondary school level, Christian (86.40%), and in the monthly income range of ₦21,000–₦40,000 (54.20%). Conservation of natural resources ranked highest amongst the index's willing indicators (4.28 ± 0.03), closely followed by participation in eco-tourism planning and management (3.79 ± 0.04), preservation of cultural values (3.58 ± 0.04), and then sustainable development of the community (3.48 ± 0.04). In addition, support without a limit on the number of tourists was rated highest (4.52 ± 0.05), while agreement with the negative impact was rated lowest (2.31 ± 0.07). Gender, education, occupation, family size, religion and income influenced overall willingness to support Idanre tourism development. To support community-based, conservation-sensitive tourism that considers the livelihood needs of community dwellers, we recommended that tourism planning recognize residents' willingness and that it be inclusive, conservation-based, and livelihood-sensitive for Idanre Hills.