REPOSITIONING KYEGH SHA SHWA FESTIVAL IN BENUE FOR DIVERSIFIED ECONOMY

The place of festivals in national economic development has received increased attention from researchers globally. However, there appears to be a relatively small and disparate literature on the subject especially within the Benue context. The research seeks to contribute to the global recognition of festivals as developmental tools and thus presents the effects of festival tourism on socio-economic capital of the people of Kyegh Sha Shwa festival traditional area (Gboko) and how festival tourism in the region engenders economic benefits to businesses and the community, Assessing the current status of tourism in Benue State, including factors affecting its growth and development, Proposing repositioning strategies to leverage the tourism potential of Keyeh Sha Shwa and other attractions in Benue State, including policy recommendations, infrastructure development plans, and marketing initiatives. Design/methodology/approach this research is guided by the social development theory. A quantitative cross-sectional survey utilizing convenience technique was used to gather data from a sample of 80 residents of the selected towns and the regression model was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed festival tourism to have a positive effect on community cohesiveness but not statistically significant. Further, the festival brought economic gains but had negative social effects on development of the selected town. This research is destination-specific. The application of the findings to other festivals would demand a bigger sample size for generalisation to be made. Practical implications the findings suggest that for growth of festival tourism in Benue to be actualised, the Nigeria Tourism Authority needs to ensure festivals do not erode entrenched traditional values and negate efforts at developing social structures and systems by putting measures to reduce the negative effect of commoditisation of festivals on the communities’ cultural authenticity. Law enforcement agents should also be massively beefed up to curtail crime and social vices. The research findings extend earlier studies to extend the scope in festival tourism literature. This research found that festival tourism has effect on both community cohesion and economic development of the people of Kyegh Sha Shwa festival traditional area. The point has been underscored that cultural festivals have the potentials of enhancing the economic development of host communities or states The Kyegh Sha Shwa festival in Benue State Should be made a priority if the tourism industry desire to offer a smart and effective cultural tourism services to tourist or guests. The Kyegh Sha Shwa festival in Benue State Should is made a priority if the tourism industries desire to offer a smart and effective cultural tourism services to tourist or guests. Keywords Festival tourism, Community cohesiveness, Economic gains, Social gain, Benue Paper type Research paper