05 Apr Tourism: Is Nobody Coming to Nigeria?

Nigeria’s vast and rich cultural heritage should be strategically re-positioned to partner tourism as a driver to lift the Nigerian economy;  now this is a statement that I have heard more times than I can recount and a statement we all agree with. As Nigeria begins to diversify its economy and shift the weight from oil; tourism and tourism related activities can be a game changer for foreign exchange earnings, job creation, infrastructure development and business.

Tourism in Nigeria has huge potential which have not been fully utilised and it is worth noting that some countries in the world have sustained their economy through their investment in the tourism sector which has yielded fruitful results. A report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that Nigeria runs a significant tourism deficit estimated at around $4-5bn and our highly expensive visas do not come close to helping to bridge the gap.

We acknowledged tourism as an important sector that drives the socio-economic development and growth of nations.  Nigeria however is beginning to recognise and pursue this market. A PWC Nigerian hospitality report says that in 2016, the tourism industry contributed N1.7billion ($5.5 million) to Nigeria’s GDP even though 97% of that revenue was gotten from domestic trips. Foreign trips, on the other hand, accounted for 3% of the total tourism revenue.

Why are people not coming to Nigeria despite our wealth of culture, tourist attraction sites, festivals, stories and array of beautiful beaches kissing the Atlantic? Apart from visas, we also show the negative impact of the perception of political instability and terrorism. IMF reports  show that tourism receipts as a percentage of GDP are down by more than 33% in Morocco since 2007 (despite no terrorist-related fatalities in five years), by over 50% (3% of GDP) in Tunisia and by nearly 75% (5% of GDP) in Egypt. The rebound potential if politics improve is very substantial. Since the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka, tourism receipts have quadrupled from 0.8% of GDP in 2009 to 3.6% of GDP in 2015. There is potential for Nigeria to fill this gap by attracting Diaspora Tourists coming for our colourful Music and Festival celebrations across the country if the work in infrastructure development continues.

The current government is also seen to be making successful efforts in restoring peace in the country. The Ministry of Tourism is also making moves to enhance tourism in Nigeria along with other individuals in the private sector. However, our country is still in need of a national brand marketing campaign that will help clean up, package, enhance and sell the Nigerian image to the international audience as it concerns tourism.  Let’s excite people to come to Nigeria!

Photo credit: the internet

Ijeoma Okoli

Emc3 Nigeria