As Nigerians lament the country’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup despite its wealth of sporting talent, experts are equally concerned about Nigeria’s weak tourism earnings in the midst of its numerous attractions.
The nation’s tourism revenue remains low compared with its African peers.
For example, Johannesburg in South Africa attracted 4.12 million visitors in 2024, with tourists spending over $303 million in December alone. Similarly, Marrakesh in Morocco welcomed 2.8 million visitors who generated $11.3 billion in 2024.
In contrast, Nigeria recorded only $1.8 billion in tourism revenue in 2023 and slightly above $2 billion in 2024.
Speaking recently at the National Advertising Conference in Abuja, Udeme Ufot, Group Managing Director SO&U said creating an attractive destination brand offers tremendous rewards.
“It becomes a destination for investments, conferences, exhibitions, and leisure travel. Above and beyond that, it confers a form of soft power as the country gains more respect and influence.”.
He said even goods manufactured in the country and services rendered can benefit from more premium pricing, while the country itself becomes more resilient to crisis. He spoke on “Building an effective and sustainable destination brand” at the conference.
He said Nigeria can benefit from the expected growth of tourism in Africa over the next three years which is projected by World Trade and Tourism Council (WTTC)at 8% year on year with revenues projected to exceed $90billion by 2027.
“To benefit from this opportunity, we must strategically market our destination in a way that will attract the best of conferences and a large number of fun seeking leisure tourists, including diaspora Nigerians.
The marketer regrets that Nigeria, despite accounting for 18% of African GDP, over 200million consumers, the country captures less than 2% of Africa’s conference economy.
He said no destination brand can thrive without strong leadership. “Leadership provides direction, continuity and conviction. He said destination branding is beyond jingles, advertising campaign, but a journey towards a desired perception that demands vision, conviction, collaboration and investment on a long term.
