Abstract
Shrines/sacred groves are amongst the heritage resources of a people and hence can be sustainably packaged for heritage tourism promotion and community development. In a traditional African society, heritage resources are inclusive of a people’s belief system and other socio-religious values. Shrines/sacred grove have been posed with series of threats to their existence and heritage tourism potentialities in communities. With the adoption of ethnography as the major research method and aid of SWOT Matrix, this paper studied some shrines in the Southeast Nigeria with major interest on their various threats (both to these sacred places and their visitors) and existing measures to that effect. Some measures including adult education and community development initiatives were suggested to augment the existing ones towards addressing various safety and security issues at these sacred places; to enhance their relevance in the heritage tourism industry and community development of Southeast Nigeria.