When the words such as ‘tour – ism destination’ crop up for intellectual engagement the countries that instantly come to mind include France, Spain and United States, which interestingly boast of 89.4 million, 83.7 million and 79.
3 million visitors on annual basis, in that order. That is according to Predictive Analysis platform for 2024 on the global landscape, with each raking in billions of dollars for their economic mainstay. One other country of fascinating tourism attraction and considered a powerhouse in that regard is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), having Dubai as the global destination of choice.
In fact, as of November, 2023 it attracted about 15.37 million visitors up from 14.3 million in the previous year.
But when the African narrative is analysed, countries such as South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania rank as the top five in that order. Sadly, Nigeria does not rank amongst the top 10. From available figures the country ranked 129 out of 136 countries in the world in 2017.
Worse still, in 2021 it ranked 145th and 7th in the West African Sub-region. Yet, the country is abundantly blessed with scenic and alluring tourism destinations as well as cultural festivals of thematic relevance. Something has to be done to change the narrative.
Recently, yours truly encountered a young, resourceful Nigerian who is concerned about bridging the wide gap which currently exists between the nation’s vast tourism potentials, and the low level it contribut.