Root Tourism: A Mixed-Methods Study of Nigerian Diasporans and Their Intention to Travel Back to Nigeria for Tourism

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was designed to examine the willingness of Nigerian Diasporans and their intention to travel back to their roots to enjoy the tourism opportunities in their home country. In this study, the term “roots” refer to the heritage or birthplace of an individual who left their home country to take residence in another country. This two-fold study was intended to focus on nostalgia as a motivational factor to understand the intention of Nigerian Diasporans to return to their roots for tourism purposes. A survey was administered to a sample of Nigerians in the American Diaspora using themes generated from the qualitative phase of this study. Subsequently, a quantitative survey was given to a larger sample of Nigerians living in the United States and concluded that indeed, a positive and strong nostalgic memory toward visiting Nigeria would result in an individual’s increased intention to visit. This Root Tourism concept can be used as a model for other developing countries within the Sub-Saharan African geographical region to examine the current level of tourism and the steps they could use to increase their own Root Tourism.