This paper examines the relationship between tourism development and its influence on the socio-economic development of Cameroon with emphasis on a comparative analysis of this influence in the two large distinct regions of the country that is the North and South. The Cameroon government has for so many years neglected the tourism sector as an agent of development in favor of sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, mineral exploitation and services. It was not until the last two decades that tourism became enlisted in the government agenda as a priority even though still on a lower scale. It is on this premise that this study pays particular attention to the marginalization of the local people in the regions with the touristic potentials who ironically are those with the lowest level of socio-economic development despite their rich touristic potentials. This research goes on to show that tourism and socio-economic development are intricately related and as such tourism can be used as a new and more efficient tool for the socio-economic development of the regions concerned in particular and the whole country in general. The study did not however ignore the great challenges facing the development of the tourism industry in Cameroon and the problems encountered by the local people when trying to integrate them into the industry. The outcome of this study is generalized so as to depict what Cameroon needs to do to develop a vibrant tourism industry which meets the socio-economic needs of its local people. The study concludes that tourism is an agent of socio-economic development and it suggest that the tourism sector should be strengthened through increased partnership between the government and local communities in order to attract more visitors to Cameroon.
