IDENTIFICATION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL EVALUATION OF INDIGENOUS DRINKS IN SELECTED ECOTOURISM DESTINATIONS HOST COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

Abstract

Indigenous drinks is considered as a major part of gastronomic tourism that offer essential satisfactory first-hand experience to the tourists. Observed dwindling in the consumption of this drinks due to modernization and preference for foreign and caffeinated drinks is a concern that justifies this research. Direct Interview was achieved through snowball sampling of 50 respondents who are mostly female indigenes culturally connected to culinary focuses. Study population was deduced using Taro Yamane formula. Questionnaire data retrieved from 390 and 375 respondents who were randomly selected from Osogbo and Ikgosi communities respectively was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 27.0. One-way analysis of variance was used to assess the influence of community respondents' demographic data on their likeness preference for various indigenous drinks. Duncan multiple range test was used to determine the significance among groups at P < 0.05. Raffia palm wine, Oil palm wine, Poporo baba, Otika, Shekete, were the indigenous drinks identified within the two host communities. Mean scores from descriptive statistics were used to present respondents likeness preference per identified indigenous drinks within the host communities. A mean score of 4.44 and above indicates positive preference, while mean score of 4.43 and below indicates negative preference. Raffia palm-wine and Oil palm-wine are indigenous drinks identified to be positively preferred among others within the two locations of study. The study recommends that indigenous drinks should be made available and easily accessible within the community with proper hygiene put in place during the production process.