Before the re-introduction of democracy in 1999, tourism in Nigeria was very much under-developed in spite of the huge potentialities in the sector.

However, efforts put into reshaping the sector in the last 10 years have indeed brought life back into an industry that is capable of enhancing not only the socio-economic life of thecountry but also boosting its image in the larger community.

From the outset, the administration of immediate past President Olusegun Obasanjo, at its inception, pronounced that rather than rely solely on oil, tourism was going to be one of the vital pillars of the economy.

The sector has since then received much attention, and in the past 10 years, the Federal Government has identified tourism as one of the six priority areas of development and articulated strategies for diversifying the oil-dependent economy.

Government’s stance is based on the premise that countries such as Kenya, Brazil, Jamaica as well as Trinidad and Tobago rake in substantial foreign exchange from tourism.

Stakeholders say that Nigeria has a vast tourism potential that can be exploited for economic growth and development, and this must have propelled Obasanjo to set the machinery in motion for turning the sector into a major revenue earner.

The machinery included the constitution of a Presidential Committee for the Nigeria Tourism Development Master Plan (NTDMP), which attracted the attention of the UN World Tourism Organisation and the UN Development Programme.

The two international bodies consequently provided funds for the production of the Master Plan.

In 2005, the project began and in August of the same year, a mid-term report was submitted, while a draft Master Plan Report was also ready at the end of 2005.

The launch of the NTMP in October 2007 by President Umaru Yar’Adua further gave fillip to the tourism sector as he factored the industry into his development vision.

Furthermore, the inclusion of tourism in Yar’Adua’s Seven-Point Agenda has been applauded by stakeholders as a bold step in the effort to place the sector on the front burner of national planning.

Analysts observe that the government has continued to throw its weight behind tourism development through its policies designed to promote and market tourism sites and cultural festivals.

In 2008, the immediate past Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), embarked on a sensitisation of Nigerians and government agencies tothe benefits of tourism to man, community and the nation.

Another step embarked upon to boost the sector was the identification of 12 cultural festivals that would be promoted to international standards.

These include boat regattas, the Eyo masquerade in Lagos, the Calabar Christmas Carnival, the Enugu New Yam Festival and the Argungu Fishing and Cultural Festival in Kebbi State.
Others are the Kano Durbar, Kwagh-Hir Puppet and Dance Festival of Benue, the Osun Osogbo Grove, listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site; the Abuja Carnival, the Mmanwu Festival of the South-East and the Black Heritage Festival.

The sector also witnessed in 2008 a review of laws and the regulatory framework for parastatal establishments and agencies under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, as well as the introduction of sports tourism, e-tourism, tourism road signs, conference tourism and slave route tourism.

With these giant steps by the Federal Government, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), an agency of the Ministry of Tourism and the apex body for tourism development in the country, really took up the challenge.

This has enabled it to adequately promote and market the tourism sector through the introduction of projects that will make tourism easy and interesting.

For Chief Olusegun Runsewe, the NTDC Director-General, the role of tourism in national development is not quantifiable as it remains the only economic strategy for boosting the nation’s revenue base.

To this end, the NTDC has over the years encouraged the enhancement of festivals through promotional materials and souvenirs, t-shirts and caps with inscriptions on them to match the event as well as Compact Disks on different types of documentaries.

At each of the festivals, NTDC organises raffle draws for residents of the community to empower the youth and women, with the corporation tagging it “Community Tourism”.
In pursuit of the corporation’s practical tourism philosophy, the NTDC has built a Fish House in Argungu and a Yam House in Igbo Ukwu, Anambra, as part of its contribution to the promotion of cultural festivals in the country.

To further boost tourism in the country, the corporation launched the Navigation Satellite System and a downloadable mobile map/phone planner incorporating the 36 states and the FCT.

This device is to help tourists and visitors alike navigate their way to tourism sites and destinations in Nigeria. It also helps in facilitating the movement of persons from one point to the other.

Other giant steps by NTDC is the placement of signposts in every nook and cranny of the FCT, which has made access to locations easy and convenient.

Recently, the corporation also introduced the Tourism-Friendly Buses, In-Cabvision, Tourism Cashcard (Nigeria Tour Card) and Scanner.

According to the NTDC boss, the buses will be given to all the states to convey tourists to tourism destinations.

“Each state will be given 10 buses and they are to immediately pay 35 per cent of the cost while the balance of 65 per cent will be paid over a period of two and a half years,’’ he says.

The buses, according to Runsewe, will enhance the comfort and security of tourists, and also improve the international image and perception of Nigeria as an organised nation with orderly people.

Indeed, in the last 10 years, the sector has witnessed an unprecedented growth, especially in the domestic tourism area where conscious efforts have been made to promote and market the country’s rich tourism potentialities.

Efforts in this regard by various state governments and concerned local governments are noteworthy and commendable, especially in states such as Kebbi, Cross River, Osun, Benue and Lagos.

Overall, Runsewe believes the tourism sector in the last 10 years has witnessed an increased flow of tourists into the country as a result of the renewed conducive tourism environment.
He says the introduction of the innovative Navigation Satellite System has further increased the flow of tourists into Nigeria by about 30 per cent.

However, some tourism practitioners are of the belief that government is only paying lip-service to tourism development, and that there is the need for urgent steps to bring in the private sector.

Mr Shola Ilupeju, the Chief Executive Officer of Travel Marketing Partners Nigeria Ltd, says a major hindrance to the development of tourism is the lack of functional travel and tour operations.

He says government has over the years not put in place any adequate policy to encourage private sector participation in the development of the industry.

“The absence of genuine tour operators in the country has hindered tourism growth. What we have today is a group of persons running around and getting commissions from ticketing, and some others defrauding people.

“This is definitely not good for the growth of the sector,” he says.

Analysts, however, say that whichever way the sector is mirrored, it has recorded tremendous growth in the last 10 years of democratic dispensation. (NANFeatures) ** If used, please credit the writer and the Agency.