Abstract
Akanda National Park (ANP) is one of thirteen national parks in Gabon. ANP was established in 2002 in support of the Gabonese government strategy to diversify the country’s hydrocarbon dependent economy by developing a tourism industry. However, ANP remains one of the less popular of Gabon’s tourism attractions despite its natural assets and geographical location in close proximity to Gabon’s capital, Libreville. This study investigated residents’ opinions about the tourism industry at ANP in terms of both leisure and business opportunities. Semi-structured interview schedules were employed for data collection from residents in residential areas of Libreville abutting ANP. Findings revealed that local people saw no value in the ANP either as a leisure pursuit or to generate a business leveraging the park as a business resource. This study recommends that the Gabonese government and relevant stakeholders need to redevelop tourism strategies with community stakeholders promoting the role of ANP for all Gabonese not only foreign tourists. Furthermore, there is a need to provide tourism infrastructure at ANP with facilities that help to foster the tourism environment.