By Chuks Akamadu

Copyright businessday

Every September 27th is celebrated as “World Tourism Day”. This year’s has “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”, as its theme. Ideally, a day like this should present an auspicious moment to reflect, take stock and count gains; but for obvious reasons, I am not that lucky. Much as I would have, for all its worth, loved to count my blessings today as a tourism expert, there is a raft of reasons that have predisposed me to walk the path of lamentation. Isn’t the fact that we are not anywhere near where we ought to be on the global tourism map concerning enough?

If anything, this year’s commemoration of World Tourism Day sadly reminds one of post-colonial Africa’s voluntary surrender to economic dependence. A continent that owns 90% of chromium, platinum and cobalt in the world as well as 40% of global gold reserve ought not to be crawling, cap in hands, in the neighbourhood of Bretton Woods institutions, development partners (as we know them) and donor-agencies. Why would we have 50% of the world’s diamond deposit, 65% of global arable farmland and 30% of the earth’s uranium, aluminum and graphite yet, by every reasonable economic metric, our land and her people are multidimensionally poor?

The nexus really is that, as it is in Africa’s broader economic firmament, so it is in our tourism sector. With our huge potential in the sector, our share of the world’s $11trillion tourism revenue is a miserable 5%. Ditto global trade where we contribute less than 3%. This is lamentable because yes, whilst Africa might not be strong in global goods export, we ought to have a competitive edge in services (tourism inclusive) which, thankfully, constitutes two-thirds of global trade at present.

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In 2022, United States of America posted $2.1 trillion in export of goods as against Africa’s $614.58 billion in 2023. This presents no puzzle, as Africa is known for supply of cheap raw materials simplicita. What I find irksome is how India would be making incremental strides in services globally through the ICT corridor and Africa elects not to optimize her comparative and competitive advantage in the tourism sector!

Incidentally, the Nigerian reality mimics Africa’s experience very well. The exception being that there has been a sustained cosmetic conversation about the imperative of mainstreaming tourism into the economy by successive governments – especially since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

The Olusegun Obasanjo administration set the tone with the inauguration of a Presidential Council on Tourism in 2004 which did the spade work for the coming into being of Nigerian Tourism Development Master Plan in 2006. In-between, the maiden edition of Abuja Carnival had happened in 2005. Beautiful optics for Nigeria’s tourism promotion and development.

Apparently, in a somewhat belated recognition of the role of tourism in the economic sphere of the nation, President Goodluck Jonathan had, during his presidency, at a two-day national tourism workshop for local government officials – organised by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), in collaboration with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), placed tourism in perspective by stating as follows: “The tourism industry has continued to achieve tremendous growth worldwide…”.

The vital role of tourism as a tool in the advancement of economies through direct investment, domestic and foreign exchange earnings as well as generating employment cannot be over-emphasized. This means that Nigeria cannot afford to be left out in the quest of transforming the golden opportunities into remarkable economic progress. It is the legitimate expectation of Nigerians that the tourism sector would, in the foreseeable future – and in line with our shared economic diversification aspiration, become one of the bedrocks of our economic growth and development.

On its part, late President Muhammadu Buhari also left his footprint – however faint – on the nation’s tourism landscape with the repeal of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Act and its replacement with the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) Act 2022. The latter, more than anything else, demolished the barriers that hitherto existed between the public and private sectors in the business of tourism development and promotion, just as it ushered in a new era of robust synergy between and amongst the three tiers of government for same purpose.

However, the light at the end of the tunnel appears to be the Nigeria Tourism Policy that is currently in the works. By the way, I have had the privilege of reading the draft copy and do wish to state, without equivocation, that with it, things can only look up for the sector. It is a classic in its own class! I must also thank the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, under the visionary leadership of Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, for the opportunity given to us (non-state players) to make inputs.

What remains to be seen is the political will to back the Policy when it eventually leaves the bakery. We also await an enthusiastic embrace of the Policy by all stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem, without which its beauty would just stay on paper. So, as the world marks this year’s World Tourism Day with “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation” in mind, I would like to urge tourism industry leaders to brace up for the challenges ahead in view of the anticipated substantive Tourism Policy. We also have a responsibility to breathe life into it by optimizing both its letters and the spirit behind it.

Similarly, Africa can also optimize the opportunity presented by this year’s commemoration. The opportunities range from instituting a peer review mechanism for African countries to compare notes bilaterally and multilaterally on emerging tourism trends within the precincts of mutual profit, to highlighting challenges faced by the tourism sector and drawing the attention of policy makers and regulators, for enhanced contribution to African nations’ economies. It wouldn’t be out of place to also offer incentives, such as tax breaks, grants, or subsidies, to attract investors. And in doing so, our continent would be giving full expression to the laudable principles and objectives of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

.Akamadu is the managing director, Afrocultour Limited