ABSTRACT
Tourism is not just a lucrative sector but the fastest growing industry in the world. Many people travel miles to satisfy their pleasure apatite at any destination where satisfaction can be met. But some destinations are flooded while some are scanty. There are many approaches to investigate this and many studies had been done. But despite all these, each destination is unique in terms of its components and attractions combination. This form the basis for this study which analyses destination attractiveness of Zaria as a tourist destination. Tourists' opinions were sampled through questionnaire at various strategic centers to cover all tourism elements at the destination. Data collected were analysed using Importance Performance Analysis technique (IPA) and Chi-Square Test of Association. The outcomes suggest major shortcomings that are traced to poor advertisement, insecurity in the destination among others. The study established the state of the attractiveness of Zaria as a tourist destination, what components and elements are attractive and are not and the factors that influence these. In line with these, the study proposes recommendation to improve its attractiveness.