Eurocentric approach and methodologies have always failed Nigeria when it matters most. Truly, as much as one believes that there are tourism lessons to learn from the next successful man, the fact is that what worked for him may not in the long term work for me, and this is reasonable and objective.
In tourism, consumers respond to products in the global marketplace with different interests and sentiments. Agreed, certain factors such as security, immigration and prices of goods and services often drive an effective tourism enterprise, but there is no denying the fact that the attitude and willingness of people or nations to receive visitors other than their own is very crucial.
As a tourism journalist, I have always wondered at the seeming confusion about where our country is headed tourism-wise. There are many “experts” and “portfolio operators” out there with little or no practical experience of how to manage Nigeria’s huge domestic tourism goldmine.
Indeed, every regime that comes to Nigerian tourism either dreams of what is happening elsewhere or, better still, tries to sermonise on how Nigeria can be richer through domestic tourism.
The missing link, to the best of my knowledge, is the absence of tourism consensus and consciousness. Simply put, the lack of a deliberate, sincere approach to issues of domestic tourism has done more damage to the quest to profit commercially and create tourism jobs than the issue of security and, possibly, spending power.
Table of doable(s) in the past
Between 1992 and 2010, Argungun fishing and agricultural festival in Kebbi State, Nmanwu festival in Enugu and the Kano durbar presented some measure of hope on the sustainable growth and promotion of tourism in Nigeria. Even though not husbanded as major contributors to our economy, there was no denying the fact that Nigerians and their political (also military) leaders were on the same page on the economic and socio-cultural benefits of these festivals to the unity and rich cultural diversity of our people.
Tour operators such as Tess Travels, Webisco and Jimi Alade Tours were then in the forefront of private sector intervention to project these festivals as cultural products and brands.
Unknown to many people, even to some of the so-called tourism eggheads, Tess Travels, owned by Mrs. Tereza Ezobi, former president of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) and founding president (coordinator) of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) is on record to have always deployed chartered aircraft to transport both local and international visitors to these festivals, particularly the Kano durbar and Argungun festival.
There was a verifiable list of Nigerian tour operators who created tourism jobs and made significant profis packaging these festivals within and outside our shores. The truth in the progressive run of that era is that the military boys and, to a large extent, the civilian presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, gave priority attention to tourism.
I recall the synergy between the travel media and the NTDC then led by Aiyegboyin Alabi, who spent most of his civil service career at the National Planning Commission. Alabi, as a latter-day tourism apostle, gave domestic tourism a push, creating and supporting initiatives that kept these festivals as the face of Nigeria tourism.
The sectorial argument then, which is still valid today, was that Nigeria’s 180 million population, if deliberately built into consensus and conscious appreciation of the diverse and unique cultural assets, would draw the attention of the world and fill the airlines heading to our airports on visits.
This approach was what Segun Runsewe spent time and energy explaining and interpreting to the whole country. We, therefore, cannot forget so soon the strategic orientation and awareness campaign that he embarked upon to make Nigeria and Nigerians realise that “oil may be good but tourism is better” or the indisputable message, “tourism is life,” that stirred our hearts and conscience into action and jolted the tourism world, surprised at the significance of Nigeria’s tourism and its impact on global traffic.
At the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, though Nigeria was kicked out of the games, we simply made up with a creative Nigerian tourism village, where our food, fashion and music became the centre of attraction. Runsewe was showing the way for our tourism as he brought in a delegation of Nollywood stars and music icons such as Shina Peters, Adewale Ayuba and many others to tell the Nigerian cultural story in South Africa.
When Runsewe left, Nigeria failed to sustain and domesticate that exemplary tourism initiative built with passion and collaboration that would have helped us jump-start a homemade, practical approach to creating tourism activities and jobs.
I took to these examples to show that it is never a tough deal to reinvent a measure of new beginning for domestic tourism in Nigeria.
The slogan of “Change begins with me” in Nigeria, just as “America first” in America and the Brexit are strong economic messages all designed to domesticate economic and cultural revival around the world.
I don’t really know what Folarin Coker will be coming up with at NTDC but anything short of letting change begin with domestic tourism will not be acceptable, though not the type fronted by the failed Sally Mbanefo NTDC administration, which celebrated native and occult doctors as culture icons.
I will not be tempted to set any domestic tourism agenda for Coker at NTDC neither will I sit on the fence if he fails to read the handwriting on the wall.
Chinese tourism authorities revealed recently that between 2011 and 2014, more than 10 million people or 10 per cent of its poverty-stricken population were lifted out of poverty through tourism. The fact is that China expects that its nationwide tourism development plan will lift 17 per cent of its impoverished population out of poverty by 2020. Coker, where are you?