Paper short abstract:

This study investigates factors that influence the change in the state of items that are bought by tourists as souvenirs at the Old Oyo National Park in Nigeria and Shiretoko National Park in Japan and what items are considered souvenirs and garbage pre-covid and post covid.

Paper long abstract:

Tourism is impacted by westernization, new identities, culture, and practices whilst the media most times, is the first point for reviews. Souvenirs and Garbage work hand in hand. Gordon 1986 categorized souvenirs into five groups, pictorial images, such as postcards, photographs, and illustrated books about particular regions as the most common souvenir. A piece of rock souvenirs is usually natural material or objects, such as rocks, shells, or pine cones taken from a natural environment. Symbolic shorthand souvenirs are usually manufactured products that evoke a message about the place from which they came, such as a flag from Nigeria or Japan or a drum sculpture from Nigeria, or a hair goblet from Japan. There are also souvenir markers which offer no particular reference to a place in themselves but has inscriptions of words which locate them in place and time, for instance, ‘a Hardrock café shirt from anywhere across the world’ with ‘the souvenirs distributed in Nigerian parties’ are markers with little meaning in itself which serves as a reminder of the restaurant and evidence of attendance will be examined in this work. Also, local product souvenirs include a variety of objects such as local foods and crafts. Can a souvenir depreciate into the garbage as time passes based on its location and the mobility and change in perception of the owner both in Nigeria and Japan? or the global pandemic as the case may be? This study will also consider stickers and inscriptions left behind by tourists at the parks as souvenirs with the garbage left behind by the tourists.