Nigeria’s tourism potentials: huge and untapped

On December 13, 2012, the global tourism industry recorded the one billion tourist mileage. This denotes that a billion people travelled around the world for tourism purposes from January to December 2012. It translated to over $2 trillion revenue from the various activities the travelers engaged in while on the trips.

While Africa could only grab a negligible 52 million or more tourists out of the over one billion that travelled round the world, earning less than $20 billion in revenue, Nigeria with all her natural endowment, cultural diversity and population strength, could only get a fraction of the 52 million tourists and little or nothing to show in revenue as there are hardly records even from the various tourism bodies.

With three tourism ministers in four years, and permanent secretaries changed at will, Nigeria has proven her lack of seriousness at developing the tourism sector as each minister abandon projects of his/her predecessors with a view to creating something new but end up enriching his/her pocket. Industry analysts have blamed perennial policy somersault, lack of knowledge in tourism business, and inability to package clear-cut tourism products as part of the reason the country is still not where it should be in tourism business.

A country that abandoned its United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) assisted Tourism Master Plan can only pay lip service to its tourism development. The Master Plan, launched in 2007 contained the aggregate policies and framework on which tourism development across the country would be founded and sustained, but it is regrettable that instead of improving on it, government seems to abandon it for cosmetic tourism campaigns only visible in the ‘paid media’. Successive ministers and managers of the tourism sector prefer short term goals to the long term ones the UNWTO envisaged in 2007.

It is even sad that less than 20 percent of Nigerians travel within the country on domestic tourism. Worse still, a lot of Nigerians prefer destinations outside the country. The two flights per day of British Airways, two per day of Emirate, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airline, Lufthansa, South African Airways, and most recently, Arik Air are 80 percent full with Nigerians on holidays abroad. Yet the likes of ABC Transport, Chisco, Cross Country, and other transport firms and some private cars move thousands of Nigerians across the West African coast on holiday especially to Ghana.

So, what attractions are in these countries that are not here?  Obudu Mountain Resort is still one of the best resorts in Africa and the beaches in Lagos are quite unique. The very unique festivals-from Durbar, Argungu, Eyo, Osun Oshogbo, Calabar Carnival are worth packaging with the global tourists’ dollar in mind.

A country where travel agents and tour operators are mindful of selling outbound tours leaves the domestic end at risk. Before international tourists visit, the domestic population should lead the way in sustaining tourism and hospitality businesses across their country. While many decry the insecurity in some parts of the country caused by negligence of government, countries that have more serious security challenges such as South Africa, Egypt  and even Kenya still receive thousands of tourists from across the world.

While international tourism in Africa grew from 27 million international tourist arrivals in 2000 to 50 million in 2011, and international tourism receipts, a vital source of foreign exchange in the region, tripled in just one decade (to $30 billion in 2010 from $10 billion in 2000), countries that benefited were countries that invested in the development of tourism infrastructure, countries with policies that protect investments and also countries that truly provided enabling environment for its potential businesses.

At 53, Nigeria’s tourism sector should really count, but sadly it does not. Relevant authorities and public officers should wake up and take the right steps beyond cheap talk and wasteful cosmetic tourism campaigns.