With its hundreds of beaches, different aquatic beauties, game reserves and flora and fauna from the mangrove to the Sahel, experts say that Nigeria can earn at least $20 billion annually from tourism if these numerous attractions were developed.
They stated that West Africa, led by Nigeria could generate over $50 billion annually from tourism, noting that West Africa is the only sub-region that has not exploited its tourism potential.
They disclosed that East Africa, South Africa and North Africa generate revenues from tourism that it has become the mainstay of their economy, adding that the 16 West African nations have so many tourist attractions that have not been exploited.
For example, in 2019 South Africa earned R121. 5 billion with 1.2 per cent increase from the previous year.
Reports indicate that African countries with the largest international tourism receipts in 2019 include Egypt, ranked first in Africa with international tourism receipts of $13.03 billion, whereas South Africa and Morocco recorded $8.38 billion and $8.18 billion respectively.
Tourism expert and the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko who spoke to THISDAY during the 18th edition of the event, which ended on Tuesday at Eko Hotel and Towers, Lagos, said that comparative study on what other sub-regions earn from tourism can throw light to what West Africa is losing from the sector because the 16 countries in the sub-region have not taken time to study and find ways to fully exploit the opportunities available in these countries, stressing that Nigeria and Ghana are potentially losing huge revenues by underdeveloping their possible tourism destinations.
“If you look at what Egypt, South Africa are earning; Kenya, Morocco and others in the other sub-regions in Africa, you will realise that the 16 countries in West Africa are losing a lot of money. Each country can earn at least $2 billion annually and that gives you about $32 billion. Nigeria alone can generate over $20 billion from tourism and even Lagos has so much that if it decides to develop its toursim destinations, it can generate enough money to fully manage the state,” Ikechi said.
In an interview she granted THISDAY during the welcome party of the 2022 Akwaaba African Travel Market (AFTM), at Wave Beach, Elegushi, Lagos on Sunday, the Minister of Tourism, Sierra Leone, Memunatu Pratt said if well developed tourism would become major source of revenue for West African nations, but these countries need to exploit the opportunities in the individual countries and work together with the others in the sub-region.
“Tourism today is critical to the transformation of West Africa’s woes or difficulties. And the reason why we have not been able to leverage on that is because of the fact that we have not improved on connectivity. When we say connectivity, we have a huge interest in IT, I agree. But even at that, you have millions of people that they cannot reach. So you still depend on traditional methods of media and more, especially on the electronic media, which is what you are doing. But for West Africa, generally, we have wasted a lot of time in connecting the sub region. I remember as far back as 1975 and up to 1980, there were projects to link West Africa. We are talking about the West Africa railway. We were also talking about the West Africa air connectivity and to some extent that we missed it as a result of the fact that a few things happened in West Africa. Like for instance, if you can recall the Civil wars in Sierra Leone, the one in Liberia, which affected Guinea a little bit. And then also, it disrupted quite a lot of processes,” she said.
She said that the creation of awareness is imperative to tourism development and that is why the countries in West Africa are lagging behind, pointing out also that the countries in the sub-region have not been able to adequately market tourism sites in the West Coast to make tourists know where the sites are and advocated for an integrated marketing approach for the sun-region’s efforts to yield the desired results.
“One of the things we are not doing enough is marketing. That is the marketing of our natural resources, products and sites has not been enough. Our marketing has been towards the domestic, may be consumer and trade related. But we have not been able to market West Africa, as it should, wherein people will know what is here and what is there. We know the tour operators are doing well but an integrated approach will make a lot of difference.
“Today, people are talking about the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Visa wherein if you have an ECOWAS Visa as a tourist, you can go to Accra or Lome. So, we have to think about integrated marketing. Let us also put together the facilities and the opportunities that are available. There should also be airline arrangements. If somebody comes with an ECOWAS Visa, there should be some discounts.
She said that what is important is that it drives businesses; it prompts people to come to hotels, coming to expand entertainment facilities, sponsoring local artists, film industry, noting that all these drives the process of the development of the economy.
She also said that marketing should not only be strategic but should also be in an integrated fashion, but she however lamented that the countries in the sub region are not on the same pedestal.
Pratt therefore called on the sub region to begin to advocate and conscientise by providing the kind ownership that is required, adding that getting people to understand that this is the way to go at the level of government, civil society, the media and also the private sector is a good way to go. So the point I’m making is that tourism is based on those things. If you want to move services, you want to move goods, you want to multiply the economy; you have to make sure that it works. So tourism sits at the top of all of these. So I am making this analogy because of the fact that we have not been able to do as much in some of these connectivity challenges and tourism has suffered as well. And West Africa has got huge natural and heritage resources that can market the whole of this region grow economically,” she stated.
