Miss Tourism urges filmmakers to showcase African heritage to promote tourism

Miss Tourism Nigeria, Joy Ebere, has said that Nigerian film makers have a role to play in promoting tourism locally and internationally through authentic and compelling storylines that brand the country positively and attract tourists.

In an interview with The Guardian, Miss Tourism said that the Nigerian film industry deploys creativity and innovation to promote tourism by bringing unexplored sites, cultures, and traditions to the screen, encouraging viewers to visit these locations and learn more about these cultures, which in turn boosts the nation’s economy.

Ebere commended the film industry for the recent productions made, saying that “recent film makers are beginning to understand the power they have in their hands, and it’s a step in the right direction. In the past, they were so keen on projecting stories about ritualists, karma, and all those kinds of stories. But if you watch the recent movies being produced, you can see that we have better storylines that project Nigeria in the right way as an interesting place to explore.”

Also a business consultant, she said that movies have an impact on tourism by providing additional revenue streams, adding that some businesses can provide specialised guided tours of the locations used for filming in various states.

“Money is coming in, whether it is from travel agencies, nearby firms, lodging facilities, and so forth. Jobs are also created within that vicinity, boosting the economy locally, and gradually, a better quality of life and a feeling of community pride result from this.”

Ebere, who represented Nigeria at the Miss World Tourism Pageant in Sri Lanka and achieved a feat no other African nation has achieved by winning best national costume out of 35 other countries, said that it was important to explore what the country was like before colonisation for it to be fully appreciated.

“At the competition, I didn’t just represent. I had to dig deep into what we used to wear before colonisation. I brought that into focus, and other countries were in awe. I also explored some parts of our culture, like in some parts of Imo State, where they don’t kill or cook snakes.

“There were some things that our forefathers worshipped and a way of life before Christianity and colonisation came. I went back to the roots and brought that into life, which gave us an edge in the competition. I was really fearless for the original, for something that’s not really seen before, or for something that an African contestant hasn’t portrayed. It was like a breath of fresh air.”

In this vein, she tasked film makers to delve deeper into African heritage and bring it to life beautifully on the screen, believing that it would attract the interest of tourists both home and abroad.

Film tourism, which is aimed at attracting viewers to a particular place, the tourism queen decried the lack of maintenance culture in the country.

“When I go to visit tourist sites, I become very sad to see most of them in ruins and in a dilapidated state. I’m talking about heritage sites and the natural attractions given to us by God. When we now produce these movies and attract an international audience, are authorities and people ready to work together to safeguard the area, particularly with regard to the environment and infrastructure?”

Ebere emphasised that the support of the government and stakeholders is inevitable for the movie industry to thrive.