Abuja – Alhaji Yahaya Ndu, a tourism consultant on Tuesday called on Nigerians to collectively tackle the challenges confronting the tourism sector.
Ndu, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that the challenges facing the industry could not be left for the people in the industry alone to tackle.
He said that the challenges of lack of capital, poor government support, poor infrastructure, political instability and natural calamities hinder the growth and development of the sector.
“Lack of capital is normally a big challenge because any individual that wants to invest in this industry must have capital in terms of money as well as other resources such as land and labour.
“The government does not give enough support to this industry, especially in terms of allocation of funds as well as encouragement to potential investors in tourism.
“In addition to that, Nigeria has very poor roads that hinder access to areas rich in wildlife and this has resulted in further drawbacks in the industry.’’
He said that political instability and insecurity in the country had been an issue of concern to tourists and these had tended to give international tourists pause when they thought of visiting the country.
“Insecurity issues, tribal clashes, Boko Haram, herdsmen and farmers attacks have also posed a threat to the industry though, gratefully the present government is doing a great deal to ameliorate the situation.
“There is also a need to improve social services such as such as providing sporting and recreational facilities while also re-jigging and improving the health care delivery system.
“Most of the tourist sites are located in the remote areas of the country and since these facilities are usually lacking in such areas it becomes unavailable to the would-be visitors,’’ he said.
Ndu said that low levels of technology and destruction of wildlife had also been a challenge.
“In most cases, these tourist areas do not have telephone and internet services and surely, in this communication age, nobody wants to be so marooned from civilisation in such a way.
“For tourists from developed countries, these conditions are difficult to cope with and may make Nigeria unattractive to them.
“There are also reports from the national parks and game reserves where poachers kill the animals for different reasons – most of them for commercial.’’
He also attributed the deterioration of the industry to lack of education and skills because many Nigerians do not know the importance of wildlife and viewed them only as a money-making opportunity.
“All these problems cannot be left for one sector alone in Nigeria because tourism cuts across all sectors of the economy.’’
He therefore called on all ministries, departments, agencies and the private sector to join hands with the tourism and hospitality industry for the nation to access the huge benefits that abound in the sector. (NAN)
Tourism sector challenges need collective effort – Expert
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