A multi-media GIS-based approach for mapping tourism infrastructure in Owerri, imo state Nigeria

Tourism is a composite of activities, facilities, services and industries that deliver a travel experience. One of the problems often encountered in the tourism industry in Owerri, is lack of data on tourism infrastructure and a quick update and maintenance of available data. Ineffective management of these spatial information also provide a means by which the hotel owners, private and government agencies and even the government loses enormous revenue which would have been used to provide an effective tourism infrastructure in Owerri. Therefore, the aim of this study is to map tourism infrastructure in Owerri Imo State using a multi-media GIS approach with a view of providing a detailed hotel database that will aid tourism development in Owerri, Imo State. Its objectives are to identify the types of tourism Infrastructure in Owerri, Imo State; to determine the spatial distribution of the tourism Infrastructures in Owerri, Imo State; to create a multi-media geospatial database for tourism Infrastructures in Owerri, Imo State and to perform spatial queries for the enhancement and administration of tourism in Owerri, Imo State The methodology involved acquisition of streets, landmarks, hotels and tourism sites from the base map and on ground, georeferencing, digitizing, image classification, multimedia database creation, querying and map production. The results show that Owerri, Nigeria is a well-rounded destination for tourists with strong infrastructure for leisure, hotel, entertainment and religious tourism, with 85.71% of hotels located within 50 meters of the roadside and 61.22% near restaurants, 81.63% within 500 meters of healthcare centers, and 61.22% within 500 meters of shopping malls. The results of the spatial distribution of tourism infrastructure were revealed to be clustered, meaning tourist spots are located close to each other. The results also show that 63.26% of hotels in the city fall within the price range of ₦15,000 to ₦10,000, making them relatively affordable, which can make the city more attractive to a wider range of travelers. It was recommended amongst others that the multi-media GIS database approach be used as a decision support system in tourism infrastructure monitoring and management in Owerri, Imo State.