Assessing the potential of developing Mukura memorial site as a tourism product: a local community perspective

Abstract

This study explored the Potential of developing Mukura memorial site as a tourism destination focusing on perspectives and attitudes of the local community of Mukura Parish Ngora District. The objectives of the study were, To examine the perception of the local communities towards Mukura memorial site and to determine the attitude of the local community towards developing the site as a tourism product. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the 60 respondents and this data was reinforced by onsite observations. Data collected from the respondents was coded and analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Results revealed that the local people had contradicting information about the development of Mukura memorial site as tourism destination but are skeptical about the negative impacts of tourism. It is recommended that the local government authorities should play vital role in convincing residential perspectives and attitudes towards dark tourism development, the local government authorities should seek to develop sensitive solutions to the demands of dark tourists that are neither offensive to local residents nor indeed, the families of the victims (some of which are still alive today). It is also perhaps important that the local government should promote educational forms of dark tourism and move away from the gimmickry of dark tourism paraphernalia such as slogan-emblazoned T-shirts and comedy-themed postcards.