SIR: Nigeria is indeed, richly endowed in various dimensions – natural, agricultural and human. Economic exploitation of any of these three categories is enough to reinvigorate our comatose economy. Interestingly, the focus of this write-up is on only a subset of our natural endowments that seldom come into reckoning, yet constitute the mainstay of some bigger economies.
This is talking of tourism, a public real estate asset. Several nations of the world that are less endowed than Nigeria have keyed into the opportunity offered by tourism, in raising their gross domestic product, apart from the fact that tourism development creates employment along its value-chain, facilitates healthy living and contributes to environmental sustainability.
What is needed to turn our potentials in tourism to economic power is purposeful documentation and pre-investment analysis on the available tourist sites across the nation. The financial and non-financial costs and benefits in tourism development would be explicitly spelt out for informed decision making.
When properly managed, viable centres of tourism and entertainment will not only yield direct foreign exchange from visitors, it will also save our demand for foreign spending through overseas’ holiday (indirect foreign exchange earnings) by way of potential foreign holiday makers appreciating the equally satisfactory local alternatives.
Perhaps, Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar is one example of a well-conceived and developed tourism and business facility which unfortunately, suffered protracted operational delays not just for non-continuity of programmes by succeeding Cross River State administrations, but principally due to poor integration of the legal/constitutional requirements for a free trade zone, its key commercial component.
Many tourist sites in Nigeria are not only natural with scenery appeals but often awesome. There are mountainous sights in Adamawa and Plateau states, the multi-level overlay of waterfalls at Owu-Kajolain, Kwara State and the others in Erin-Ijesha (Osun State) and Agbokim (Cross River State), the interesting wildlife at Yankari Game Reserve (Bauchi State), an intriguing warm and cold springs in Ikogosi (Ekiti State), the intimidating Zuba Rock in the FCT and the historic Olumo Rock in Abeokuta (Ogun State).
There are several others like the fascinating Esie-Iludun Museum (Kwara State), serene and lush environments of Obudu Ranch and Tinapa (Cross River State).
Tourism’s contribution to Kenyan GDP is only second to agriculture, just as it is equally a significant contributor to the economy of UAE, after oil and gas. Rwanda has also attained the enviable status for conference tourism. Bahamas, an island located in the southeast of Florida generates about 20 per cent of its income from tourism. Tourism contributes about 22 per cent to the economy of Seychelles. Tourism equally contributes significantly to South Africa GDP and its economic development.
Nigeria has depended on crude oil for too long and with a drift away from fossil fuel coupled with increasing focus on soft skills and technologies, complimentary economic drivers must be developed. In this light, with innovative and mental exertion, the demand for truly relaxing and inspiring environments for both work and leisure should not be under-estimated.
If Rwanda, a much smaller country once identified with genocide, could within a space of 30 years build a thriving tourist sector, and Mauritius transform its economy from sugarcane-dependent to a top tourism destination, Nigeria cannot excuse her failure to tap into her vast tourism potentials.
To develop tourism into money-spinning investments requires deliberate desire to convert resources to wealth, readiness to look beyond political sentiments and bias in project location, possession of needed political will, formulation of appropriate policies embracing sustainable investments in non-oil sector and investment in necessary infrastructure-support like roads and efficient transport system, preparedness to partner with the organised private sector, critical hospitability stakeholders and the relevant professionals in the built environment, especially the estate surveyors and valuers.
Terence Ogbhemhe is a Lagos-based estate surveyor and valuer.
