CULTURAL SYMBOLS AND SLOGANS IN BRANDING ÌYÁMOP̣̀ Ó MOUNTAIN AS TOURISM DESTINATION IN ÌGBEṬ̀ Ì, OỴ̀ Ọ̀ STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Symbols and Slogans (SaS) are increasingly becoming important in branding tourism destinations due to their ability to represent ideas, objects, and events. However, existing studies on tourism focused on potentials, types, benefits, challenges, development and tourism sustainability with little attention to how cultural SaS could be used as tools for branding tourism destinations. Therefore, this study examined the extent to which cultural SaS could be used to brand Ìyámop̣̀ ó Mountain (IM) as a tourism destination in Ìgbeṭ́ì. Clifford Geertz’s Symbolic and Interpretive Theory of Culture and Walt Whitman Rostow’s Modernisation Theory served as the framework, while the mixed methods design was adopted. Data were obtained through participant observation during three annual Ìyámop̣̀ ó festivals and Easter Monday Carnivals, focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews and a survey of tourists. Ten sessions of FGDs were conducted with Ìyámop̣̀ ó priests, men, women and youths. Twenty-five key informants comprising one traditional ruler, four priests, a chief and heads of quarters were purposively selected for interviews and insights on the cultural SaS in Ìgbeṭ́ì, cultural resources on IM and the extent to which the selected cultural SaS can be used to brand IM as a tourism destination. Two hundred and twelve tourists were accidentally selected, and a structured questionnaire was administered to them to determine how SaS could be used to brand IM. Qualitative data were content-analysed, while quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The cultural SaS are Àgbélé hill, a rock pedestal depicting a woman carrying a baby on her back and a load on her head; slogans, which are “Ìgbeṭ̀ ì Ìlú ọye”̣̀ meaning Ìgbeṭ́ì harmattan city and“Ìgbeṭ̀ ì Olókè meṛ̀ ìndínlógún connoting the climatic condition and landscape of Ìgbeṭ́ì, respectively. The IM, a rock believed to be a woman who rescued Ìgbeṭ́ì forebears during wars, is a tourist site attracting tourists annually for sightseeing, mountaineering and participation in carnivals and Ìyámop̣̀ ó annual festival that involve sacrifices and rituals to renew the covenant between Ìyámop̣̀ ó deity, ancestors and the members of the community. The cultural resources on IM that attract tourists include Ilé Ìyámop̣̀ ó, Ilé Ṣàngó, Odò orogún meta ̣́ , relics of a defensive wall and stones, and Ìyámop̣̀ ó shrine. Àgbélé symbol (AS) and the slogan Ìgbeṭ́ì ìlú ọyẹ̀ can brand IM due to their aesthetic values. The respondents were 56.6% male, 84.4% were non-traditional believers, 75.0% had formal education, and 3.8% were foreigners. Most of the tourists (82.4%) sampled identified AS as useful for branding IM. Additionally, 73.0% were attracted to IM by the AS, while 77.8% opined that AS brands IM and 74.0% believed that AS brands other tourism resources on IM. Similarly, 68.3% agreed that the slogan Ìgbeṭ̀ ì Ìlú ọye”̣̀ communicated information about the beauty and climatic condition of IM as an attractive tourism destination; 77.8% agreed with the slogan branded IM, while 68.8% believed that it advertises other tourism resources. Cultural symbols and slogans in Ìgbeṭ́ì promote IM as a tourism destination. Therefore, it is recommended that tourism destinations everywhere should be branded by employing cultural symbols and slogans as brands.