EVALUATION OF CULTURAL TOURISM POTENTIALS OF THE BASSA IN NYONG AND KELLE DIVISION, CENTRE REGION OF CAMEROON

ABSTRACT

Cultural tourism is gaining global attention. While it is yet to be fully exploited in Cameroon, Cameroon has been noted to be Africa in miniature with a diversity of rich cultures. The Bassa people of the Nyong and Kelle Division of the Center Region of Cameroon are among the diverse tribes of Cameroon characterised by rich cultural potentials. Despite reports of the many socioeconomic benefits associated with cultural tourism if sustainably exploited, the Bassa people are yet to reap such exploitations. Hence, this reteach has as main objective to evaluate the cultural tourism potentials of the Bassa people in Nyong and Kelle Division, Centre region of Cameroon. To achieve this objective, the research adopts a quantitative research methodology and data analysis was done using SPSS. From the data analysis, it was discovered that even though the cultural values of the Bassa people was a huge cultural tourist potential,the community has not yet benefited from cultural tourism opportunities due to some core challenges. Amongst the different challenges identified, poor management presents the greatest threat in developing cultural tourism in the locality. We mainly recommended that the local council and the host community inclusively adopt sustainable management in the full exploitation of the cultural tourism potentials of the Bassa people.