Development of a GIS based tourism infrastructure in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi urban areas of Anambra state Nigeria

Tourism is now the greener pastures most developing countries have focused attention to due to its enormous benefits like infrastructural development, job creation, conservation of environment etc. In Nigeria, it is an important sector that has not fully developed, though; it is one of the country’s fastest growing industries. Recently, it is contributing about 3% of Nigeria GDP. Tourism is a strong revenue earner; lack of proper management of same has denied Nigeria the benefits accrued from the sector. This research is therefore aimed at the Development of a GIS-Based Tourism Infrastructure in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi in Anambra State, with the specific objectives of; developing a comprehensive GIS database map showing tourism locations in these cities, to ascertain the pattern of distribution of the tourism infrastructure in Anambra State. This was achieved through the acquisition of base map of the study area and point picking of geometric data of tourism facilities using a handheld Global Positioning System instrument. A functional user friendly spatial database on tourism facilities was developed. ArcGIS 10.7 was used for Geospatial database creation, querying and displaying of results, while Microsoft word 2010 was used for data processing and preparation of reports. The results of database queries showed the locations of tourist locations like, hotel accommodations, relaxation and eating spots, banks and major landmarks all located within Anambra State. In conclusion this research presented the significant role that GIS can play in tourism development in Anambra State, if a complete database for tourism in the state is designed and developed.