Global Journal of Management and Business Research, F: Real Estate, Event and Tourism Management, Volume 23 Issue 3

Republic of Benin, located in West Africa, we analysed the traditional tourism heritage of the country, the bee diversity, the principles of a sustainable bee-based tourism and how a profitable apitouristic site could be managed. a) Existing Tourism Heritage i. The Cultural and Religious Heritage It consists of the sites of the royal palaces of the city of Abomey, listed as UNESCO heritage in 1985, and the Glede dance of Nago tribes in the list of intangible heritage of humanity in 2001. The relics of colonial and slavery periods, the temples of Vodoun, which is the endogenous religion of populations of Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, also belong to this group. The Republic of Benin is worldwide known as the land of Vodun which determines the daily life of most people (INSAE, 2015). Vodun is so crucial in the country that the government established in 1990, the national Vodun day to celebrate the numerous endogenous religions of the country every 10 January. According to Agbaka (2022), the Vodoun temples, and the numerous sacred groves of Benin are great tourism opportunities available to satisfy and maintain adepts and visitors if efficient care is taken to prevent the desecration of intrinsic endogenous values. Likewise, some communities have developed, and preserved identity festivals, initiation rituals, pilgrimage sites and endogenous fishing and hunting technologies that deserve particular attention. All these original sites are reinforced by a much-diversified indigenous craft industry that remains active all year round (Corali & Houenoude, 2013). In order to strengthen the rich Vodun tourism heritage of the country, the government recently established the so-called Vodun Rite Committee through a decree of 13 September 2023. Following this decree, the Vodun Rite committee, made up of nine members, will help establish the labelling of the rites, ceremonies, and practices of Vodun temples and rites, and support all initiative related to the Vodun tourism heritage development. ii. The Historical and Architectural Heritage It consists of the precolonial architecture of the historic cities of Abomey, Ouidah, Porto-Novo and numerous unique buildings scattered countrywide (Agbaka, 2022). The water-born-habitats of the Toffin people of Ganvié in the south, the Tata Somba, and the Tata Betamaribe huts in the North-West, the war holes and the traditional iron extraction furnaces in Zou, Collines and Borgou departments belong to this group. The Museums of the Kings of Abomey, Porto-Novo, the slavery memory sites of Ouidah, the Gaani site of Nikki are sites of great touristic value that are constantly improving their reception capacity with the government’s support. iii. The Natural Heritage It is used for ecotourism. It is made up of the natural landscapes of the Atacora chains in the northwest, the reserved forests, the sacred groves, and the natural landscapes in the south according to the decree No. 2017-331 of July 6, 2017, that dealt with the Protected Areas categorization in the Republic of Benin. The natural landscapes of the Atacora chains are made up of the Pendjari biosphere reserves and the W parks. They bear panoramic sites, falls, cascades, caves, natural pools, and large wildlife that have been well- protected for decades. The parks and their ecological environments also offer the possibility of extensive hunting tourism, animated by the village hunting areas, which support the Safaris of lions and buffalos living in the same area with protected species such as elephants, leopards, cheetahs, and crocodiles. In the southern parts, the natural landscapes are made up of lakes and mangrove complexes, the mouth of Mono River, and beaches with various socio-cultural activities. These sites are increasingly secured by the government with participatory development plans that support the sustainable conservation of rare, endemic, and emblematic species they host. Buzzing opportunities: Integrating apitourism for enriching the tourism heritage of the Republic of Benin Global Journal of Management and Business Research ( F ) XXIII Issue III Version I Year 2023 2 © 2023 Global Journals II. B ees and T ourism P otentials in the R epublic of B enin The tourism heritage of the Republic of Benin is very rich and well preserved by indigenous knowledge, most of which has resisted the cultural pollutions imposed by globalization and cultural hybridization from the slavery era and the colonial periods to date (Corali & Houenoude, 2013; Agbaka, 2022). The most critical heritages, based on the classification of the National Tourism Policy document of the country (PST, 2013) are the cultural and religious heritage, the historical and architectural heritage, the natural heritage, and the heritage of memories. They are interconnected, and constantly improve their facets and attractiveness through governmental initiatives in cooperation with the civil society. The reserved forests are areas that benefit from a restrictive regime of use rights relating to the land and the born resources by an administrative act following the provisions of law No. 93-229 of July 2, 1993, relating to the forest regime in the Republic of Benin. There are 58 forest areas, which are parks, hunting areas, reserved forests, and reforestation areas. Sacred forests serve as habitats for deities or socio-cultural principles the populations venerated (Djdaoun et al. , 2022). The existence of a coastline of more than 120 km with a warm beach all year round supports seaside and eco- social tourism in the city of Grand-Popo, the lakeside city of Ganvié and Nokoue and the marshes of So-Ava, and Aguegue.