ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the changing global tourism environment, with particular emphasis on the key trends and developments that are likely to occur in the twenty-first century. Tourism’s impact on indigenous peoples’ way of life and on their control of and access to their resources and environment has become more pronounced with the globalization of the world economy. The chapter identifies some key factors that need to be addressed in order to ensure success for developing eco-tourism in Cross River State. Indeed, developing economies like Cross River State face tough choices by allowing an unregulated influx of tourists in protected areas. In addition to tourist attractions, Cross River State is acknowledged as one of the most valuable stores of biodiversity on earth, which has not only contributed to sustainable development but has also given the state an identity of global significance. In Nigeria alone, over 90 percent of tropical lowland rainforests in Cross River State have been lost to deforestation.
