If Detty December is that one tourism season, an end-of-year travel surge where product Nigeria is being sold to reshape domestic tourism, create new economic opportunities, and position Nigeria as a festive-season destination on the global map, a 360 degrees preparation measure becomes a routine for not just the government and stakeholders but also the people.
  
Thus, for Nigeria to stay on top of the beat and harness the economic potentials, the government must rise to the occasion at all levels including providing infrastructures, while the stakeholders must create the products and perfect ambience, and the people/workforce must sell the product Nigeria – all hands must stay on deck round the clock.
   
This was the thrust of Naija7Wonders conference 3.0, a digital tourism advocacy forum organised as part of preparations for the 2026 Detty December Festival by the Organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, where stakeholders dived into discussions on how lessons from past festive seasons can inform better coordination among suppliers, hospitality businesses, and tourism planners ahead of time.

Looking To Better Organised Structure In 2026
While much attention is often placed on the vibrant nightlife, packed beaches, and sold-out events that define Detty December in Nigeria, the rapidly expanding tourism season is exposing critical gaps in supply chains and workforce readiness.
  
Addressing these gaps, Founder of Lion Hospitality Partner and Group CEO of Wakanow, Bayo Adedeji highlighted the less visible operational pressures behind the scenes – particularly supply and staffing.

Supply That Meets Rush Season Demand
Adedeji disclosed that his network of venues – Wave Beach, Athena Beach, Kyma Beach, Unda Lounge, Lion Wonder Arena in Alausa, Egbeda and Ikorodu, as well as Doo & Shima Beach House sold about 100,000 bottles of water in December alone, yet still struggled to meet customer demand. “We could not get our hands on good supplies as we went down the road. Being able to think about supply from the month of October is critical. My biggest supply problem was water,” he said.
  
The travel, tourism and hospitality entrepreneur revealed that the scale of consumption during December overwhelmed suppliers. “Despite moving roughly 100,000 bottles of water across his hospitality outlets, there were days customers had to be told there was no water available because suppliers could not keep up with demand.”
  
Adedeji further said water, more than alcohol, space rental, or entertainment, turned out to be the single most profitable unit item during the festive rush, prompting him to rethink procurement strategy for future seasons.

Staffing Capacity During Seasonal Rush
Beyond supply constraints, staffing presented another major challenge, Adedeji revealed. He said that despite frequent complaints about unemployment in the country, hospitality operators struggled to find enough personnel to handle the seasonal rush, with some workers quitting abruptly at the peak of operations. “We could not find enough people to work. People continue to complain there are no jobs, and yet we can’t find enough people to do the work.”