EVALUATION OF THE GASTRO-TOURISM POTENTIALS OF BENIN CITY, EDO STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

One of the newest ideas in the travel industry is gastronomy tourism, a topic that has not received much attention. Travelers' allocation of a significant portion of their expenditure for food and drink has led to the evolution of gastronomy tourism through the use of regional cuisine and beverages. This study set out to assess Benin City’s (the capital of Edo state, Nigeria) potential for gastronomic tourism. The respondents from Benin City showed a substantial level of awareness of indigenous foods in Benin City, and desire to participate in food festivals and food tourism. Respondents will eat ponded yam very often, preferences to soup indicates that respondents would like to eat Owotor and Black soup every now and then, followed by Egusi and Owo soup, while the Ikpowho soup will be a choice only if available. The distribution by snacks shows that Uloka and Akasan is preferred above Eka-Iyan, Kolanut and Ikoka, ogoro is preferred to Udegboto among indigenous drinks. Edo State government and the monarchy system of Benin City should give gastronomy tourism planning and development careful consideration to facilitate destination branding/place image of Benin City. More so, traditional education system for knowledge passing about the production process of these identified indigenous food to both indigenes and tourists that visits Benin City should be priortized.