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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.33, 258-266
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
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Figure 4 How tourists knew about the Confluence Beach?
Note: Author's Field Survey, September 2008
Others got to know about this beach and associated
amenities through newspaper adverts. However, it
is of importance to mention that much of the
electronic media and newspaper paper awareness
were created through the local media. This limited
the tourist attraction to mainly local visitors and a
few foreigners who became aware of it by chance.
5.3 Perception on level of Lokoja Confluence
Beach development
The perception of tourists on the development of the
beach seemed to be clearly polarized at two extremes
(Table 2). Certain factors were responsible for such
scenario. First, tourists’ exposure to what ought to be
the ideal conditions of beaches for recreation
influenced their perception (especially those who
viewed it as underdeveloped). Such awareness came
from various sources which included television and
internet with respect to conditions of beaches across
the globe. Second, the condition of supporting
recreational amenities equally affected perception (which
may be either positive or negative). Some other factors
might be responsible too but in most cases, it would have
been a combination of more than one factor.
Table 2 Perception on the level of development of the confluence beach
S/N
Level of Development
Frequency
Percentage
1.
Well developed
150
40.00
2.
Developed
30
8.00
3.
Underdeveloped
195
51.40
Total
374
100
Note: Source: Author's Field Survey, September 2008
5.4 Conditions and quality of products at the
Lokoja Confluence Beach
Availability of amenities which meet the need of
tourists is a key factor that attracts visitors for the
purpose of recreation, leisure, religion, meeting and
conferences among others (Nick, 2008). Such
amenities must meet the need of various groups of
tourists which include adults, children and the aged.
This will also boost the local economy of the residents
in the tourist attraction environment. The amenities
identified at Lokoja Beach include conference hall,
basketball court, Tennis court, spa/wellness centre and
gymnasium. Others are swimming pool (for adult and
children), restaurant/supermarket, laundry facility, a
garden and an entertainment centre. The presence of
amenities for the youths made the beach attractive to
students especially during holiday and festive periods.
However, some of these amenities needed to be
improved while some others were still under
construction at the time of investigation. The state of
some of the amenities is revealed as follows:
a) Swimming Pool Area
The swimming pool was well equipped for swimming,
diving and other water sports (Figure 5). It was very
clean and also conducive for relaxation. The pool had
its restaurant and bar with provision for musical
entertainment. This made the pool very attractive to
tourists; hence it was usually a busy area at the beach
especially at weekends and festive periods. It attracted
a three hundred naira (N300) charge for adults and one
hundred naira (N100) for children between the ages of
8 and 12.
Figure 5 Lokoja beach swimming pool