Victor Nze
20 November 2009
With the appreciative value of returns annually recorded by major players in the global tourism industry, it has become evident that the gains of this unique and sustainable industry to the economy of any nation should no longer be overlooked for a country like Nigeria that seeks to be relevant in the comity of nations.
It is a well documented fact that tourism as an industry is capable of generating a huge number of increased opportunities in virtually every field of human endeavour and socio-cultural life, if given a better platform to thrive in a nation.
According to Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, in a recent interview, "tourism is the single biggest industry in the world that rakes in billions of dollars for the economy of any country alone."
The issue however remains that in spite of the many tourists destinations and tourism related events and meetings, in addition to carnivals and exhibitions being staged, tourism in Nigeria as an industry still has a greater task ahead of it, if the country's wish of fully maximizing its potentials is to be realised.
The immensity and richness of tourism potentials in Nigeria by way of its cultural and ecological heritages, hospitality sub-sector, as once posited by Runsewe, is corroborated by another practitioner in the industry, Mrs. Soluade, a renowned marketer and consultant in travel and tourism, who notes that Nigeria has so much that is yet to be tapped into.
"Nigeria is still a virgin as far as tourism is concerned compared to other countries. Also it is also rather glaring and saddening that the issue of having something to market or not does not affect us in anyway."
Experts agree that the first major step to correcting the problem and exploring these opportunities goes beyond marketing the many tourism products, or having distribution networks, as the people gifted with these potentials or where these destinations are situated must be enlightened on the product they are practically sitting on, its availability, where it can be gotten, at what price and the benefits or the satisfaction they tend to derive from it.
"It is important to note, that it takes only the citizens of a country to promote her heritage. This is because it is only them that know exactly what they have and the benefits inherent there in.
But sadly, however, reverse is the case in Nigeria, as most Nigerians tend to know little or nothing about their heritage and its value, hence, these heritages are allowed to suffer and rot. If tourism is to achieve its desired aim, Nigerians themselves need to embrace, appreciate and preserve what they have got," said Soluade.
Speaking at the programme organized by NTDC recently in Abuja to announce the plan for the now launched national dress brand for Nigeria, Runsewe noted that for there to be a high increase of patronage from other countries, Nigerians themselves must embrace the culture of 'Buy Nigeria'.
"The low sense of cultural value of the Nigerian people is an issue that calls for serious attention. It is sad when other people talk ill about us, but worse still when Nigerians themselves discourage foreign tourists to the country by projecting her in a negative light."
For Soluade, various instances have been noted, where business partners from other countries seek to get visa to the country only to be advised by our own embassy not to come to Nigeria, that it is risky, as they stand the chance of being killed or kidnapped. What a promotion!"
However, concerned persons in tourism have also advised that beyond other efforts being put in by NTDC, it is important that they consider embarking on a community-to-community awareness campaign aimed at informing the citizens on the need to appreciate the good in themselves and their land, other than concentrating on their negative sides.
According to a commentator on tourism matters, "Every nation aims at exploring the comparative advantage it has over others and until Nigerians begins to appreciate and value themselves first as individuals with unique identity that should be respected and cherished, and secondly as a nation with an overwhelmingly rich cultural heritage that must be nurtured and showcased to the world, tourism and tourist promoters would not be said to have achieved its aim of promoting the industry as it takes only Nigerians, in the words of Ms Funmi Iyanda, presenter of the television chat show; New Dawn, to tell their story, promote their cause and market their heritage effectively."
Although it has been noted that apart from the people themselves, there are quite a number of other factors which impede on the speed of the industry in the area of growth, as it has also become imperative to note that it is time Nigerians come to terms with their new role in promoting the industry as key to its success.
"For instance, we talk about issues such as insecurity, kidnapping, bad roads, poor maintenance culture especially of tourist destinations, lack of electricity, poor infrastructure, insufficient and poor standard in the hospitality industry, inadequate information, and others as issues affecting the industry, however, it is worthy of note, to say that however gross these problems may appear, a high number of them are self-inflicted, which therefore raises the question of willingness on the part of the people to be key players to the success of the industry in Nigeria.
For instance, in places like the Agulu Lake in Anambra State and the Lakes in Ibeju-Lekki local government area of Lagos, the residents due to ignorance on the value of what they have, have neglected these beautiful natural settings to rot in the hands of traditionalist and spiritualists who weave superstitious theories around them for their own benefit.
According to Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, in an interview with Champion Tourism, a lot needs to be known about Nigerians themselves, especially the youth, because as it is now, a lot of youth seem to be alienated from the Nigerian culture.
"How can a child who knows little or nothing about his or her country, culture, value and heritage appreciate and promote it. It should start from the homes, the parents should stop causing damages to these children and youth, they should spend much time teaching them about our tradition and culture, the positive side of course. They should stop exposing them to things that estrange them from our root. We need to teach our children things that promote our own way of life, culture and traditions." She said.
Continuing, "The tourism board can also be of help, maybe there should be a way they can organize to carry the youths along, so as to help re-orient these children in our way of life and the need for them to appreciate their own Culture.
We are not saying that they shouldn't learn new things from other cultures; the positive ones of course, but they should be so sound in knowledge about their own, so as not to prioritize other people's culture to theirs. The concept of promoting Nigeria culture must really be encouraged in our people."
Perhaps also it is time we begin to spend time travelling to other states in the nation instead of yearning for cities abroad. Travelling abroad may be good in terms of broadening Nigerians' view, but the question is how much of Nigeria do the people themselves know or are willing to explore.
If we must bring the world to Nigeria and take Nigeria to the world, like Runsewe said, we must embark on a mental re-awakening. It is not enough to encourage infrastructural development in the nation, the people must be made to see and feel the impact of tourism.
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