Public History and Heritage Management: Strategies for Cultural Tourism Development in Kano State

This study examines the professional practice of public history and heritage management as tools for cultural tourism development in Kano State, located in Nigeria's North West geopolitical zone. Kano possesses one of West Africa's richest concentrations of historical monuments including the Kano City Walls, the Kurmi Market, the Gidan Makama Palace Museum, and the Old City dye pits, yet cultural tourism development remains significantly below its potential due to poor heritage management, inadequate site interpretation, and limited professional capacity in the state's tourism agencies. Using a professional survey design, the study collected data from 120 heritage site managers, tourism officers, visiting scholars, and domestic and international tourists, supplemented by documentary analysis of state cultural heritage policy documents from 2020 to 2024. The Heritage Management Theory and the Cultural Tourism Development Framework provide the analytical lenses. Findings indicate that inadequate signage, poor visitor facilities, unmanaged encroachment on heritage sites, and the absence of trained heritage interpretation professionals are the primary constraints on cultural tourism growth in the state. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments' limited presence outside Abuja further weakens professional heritage governance at sub-national levels. Recommendations include the establishment of a Kano Heritage Management Agency and strategic public-private investment in site infrastructure. Keywords: public history, heritage management, cultural tourism, Kano State, historic monuments.