The tourism industry is rapidly growing in today’s world, with its primary focus on leisure, business, travel activities, lifestyle centers and creating lasting memories. One of the most valuable characteristics of tourism is that while it has grown in numbers, it has also grown in a variety of destinations, as there has been a continued geographical spread of it to all parts of the country. 

The Nigerian Tourism Industry is currently undergoing serious reorganization and restructuring as it is evident in the increasing rate at which new hospitality centers are springing up at different locations in the country. There are various opportunities that can be taken advantage of  if more states and local governments of Nigeria begin to showcase and harness their natural and man-made tourists endowment . Tourism can significantly contribute to the country’s economic development goals, workforce development and heritage preservation.

Tourism is helping less endowed communities and countries across the nation to make up for their conventional and economic misfortunes. Arochukwu’s cultural heritage and sites are gradually fading away due to incursion with modernization, the question remains “How much of that memory are custodians promoting and preserving?” Art and heritage are important parts of socio cultural education, history of any community as well as nation. It has therefore become necessary to bring back our cultural heritage and package it in a manner that will bring back the lost glory.   

Arochukwu kingdom is blessed with many tourist potentials like the 79 Steps and Waterfall , the Long Juju Cave, the Onu Asu Nwa Bekee , the Colonial Master Quarters, the various Mgbala Ekpe , the historic  Ulonta Okoroji museum and so many other areas of tourist interests and captivating scenes. Despite all these, reasonable efforts have not been put in place by stakeholders to arouse and attract the interest of tourists to the kingdom. 

Aro’s natural and cultural heritage constitutes a substantial part of the country’s tourism resources if properly harnessed, managed and packaged. The management of the environment for tourism depends not only on the right information, compilations and dissemination but quite significantly on articulating our unique cultural and natural environmental features and processes that make them distinctive from the rest of the country.  Aro’s must be ready to accept foreigners as visitors and should be ready to sell or market aspects of culture, social life and surrounding natural environment to tourists. Care should be taken so that cherished values and the way of life established over the years by our forefathers are not destroyed. Clearly what is holding Arochukwu kingdom today is the culture and tradition set up by our forefathers .

The social, cultural, economic, political and environmental benefits of tourism are that it ushers monumental and historic changes in a community as well helps agriculture and commerce, which is the major occupations of the people in rural communities. Tourism also provides opportunities for small scale business enterprises, employment in transportation, creates jobs such as tour guides, and generates extra tax revenues which can be used for schools, hospitals, housing and infrastructure projects. Therefore we call on custodians, stakeholders ,residents and all Arochukwu sons and daughters to create a master plan for the development of tourism in Arochukwu. If they understand their perception of the place they call home, then begin to fashion out a new way to bring back our lost glory and be proud to showcase us to the world through tourism.