Developments in Nigeria’s Tourism Industry (1975 to 2015)

Statutorily, tourism started gaining momentum in 1988, when the ruling military government promulgated a decree establishing the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), and by the year 2000, the Federal Ministry of Culture & Tourism was created; thereby according tourism a priority status in Nigeria’s quest for national economic development.
Over the years, the need for conservation caused the federal government to create some national parks and reserves. To date, Nigeria has eight National Parks and some State Governments nature reserves. But these parks are not adequately funded, neither are they strategically managed to attract spending tourists. Because these parks were set up for conservation purposes only, they have not added any value to tourism development. Little wonder these parks are under the Federal Ministry of Environment, instead of the Ministry of Tourism – as obtained in other climes.
More so, ‘Cultural Tourism’, which is the most significant brand of Nigeria tourism, is not strategically marketed to attract international tourists either. Come to think of it, the bane of tourism development in Nigeria has been the lack of concerted marketing strategy for both domestic and inbound tourism. Consequently, the industry’s growth has been at a snail’s speed.
Notwithstanding the accolades that heralded the establishment of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there been no significant development in the industry afterwards. No thanks to the mediocrity perpetuated in the administration of tourism in Nigeria. Since its creation, the Federal Ministry of Culture & Tourism has had ‘tourism-illiterates’ as substantive ministers. In fact, the ministry had been the dumping ground for career politicians with no tourism know-how.
Over the years, experts had perennially posited that, the bane of Nigeria tourism development, amongst other things, is the lack of world-class marketing and promotion programmes, targeting both local and international travel source markets.
The 2005 Federal Government of Nigeria and UNWTO facilitated Tourism Development Masterplan for Nigeria concluded that,
“The current marketing approach is very weak. The marketing of Nigeria as a tourist destination is underfunded and lacks a strategic marketing
approach. The marketing collaterals are not up to international standards; while they are informative they are not customer friendly.
A survey of tour operators in the UK, Europe and the United States of America indicated a lack of information or knowledge about Nigeria
as a tourist destination. The adoption of a niche marketing approach will be critical to the success of any future marketing strategy and therefore the success (or otherwise) in developing tourism in the country.”
Consequently, no meaningful advancement was recorded in developing Nigeria’s tourism industry, and the same fate bedevilled the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC).
Amazingly, the most significant development of a tourist destination in Nigeria came from a state government in the South-South region. Between 1999 and 2007, the then Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State successfully revamped and enriched the hitherto moribund Obudu Cattle Ranch and instituted the now celebrated Calabar Festival. He single-handedly turned Cross River State into the most renowned tourist destination in Nigeria. His administration also built the Tinapa Business Resort to rival Dubai.
After Obudu Ranch Resort, now called, Obudu Mountain Resort, the next notable tourist destination in Nigeria is the Bauchi State owned Yankari Game Reserve. The park is endowed with several natural warm springs and diverse plants and wildlife. It is also rich in prehistoric – early man’s - archaeological attractions. Notwithstanding the sterling ecotourism quality of Yankari Game Reserve, successive governments have done little to build world class facilities and promote the destination to attract domestic and international tourists.
In 2012, the World Bank and most international development organisations reported that Nigeria’s economy will grow at 7% in the coming years. But it did not. No thanks to the fall in the price of crude oil in the international markets that started in 2014. And by 2015, the same Bretton Wood Institutions are projecting a not more than 4% annual growth. Insisting that Nigeria’s economy must diversify to other sectors like tourism and agriculture.
The World Bank advice fell on deaf ears. Sadly, successive governments in Nigeria have no appetite to develop Nigeria’s tourism into a major domestic revenue and foreign exchange earner. And it is not because of easy crude oil money hitherto. Rather, it is due to sheer insufficient knowledge of tourism economic development potentials.
Though the clamour for economic diversification became intense in the five (2010-2015) years of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, he left no indelible footprint on Nigeria’s tourism development. He produced Nigeria’s longest serving tourism minister, Edem Duke, a Calabar hotelier, who did nothing but throw his fat weight around!
As if the industry has not suffered enough, Goodluck Jonathan’s successor, President Muhammad Buhari in October 2015, chose to scrap the Ministry of Tourism and re-assigned the former ministry’s agencies to a new Ministry of Information and Culture! Now Nigeria’s tourism industry development opportunity is back to square-one!!
After all said and done, Nigeria Tourism development would only be transformed by visionary and transformational leadership. Political leadership that makes tourism a central part of Nigeria’s national economic development strategy, and not an after-thought – which is presently the case! The approach to managing tourism in the country should be orchestrated to benchmark on the tourism comparative advantage of each geo-political zone. Each geo-political zone in Nigeria presents a different tourist opportunity, in terms of the local people’s tradition, cultural heritage, vegetation belt, landmark attractions, and socio-economic environments.

About the Author

By 9jatravel / Administrator, bbp_keymaster

Follow 9jatravel
on Dec 21, 2015

No Comments

Leave a Reply

BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS, HOTELS AND TOURS NOW!

SHARE THIS INFO Life is a journey, we make it smooth

Close this popup

Check out our Packages or Book for the latest package
BOOK NOW

Do You want to travel by Air?
BOOK A FLIGHT

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On YoutubeCheck Our Feed