Tourism in Nigeria

Developing tourism in the 21st century has become one of the fastest growing sectors of global economy and developing countries are cashing in on the expanding industry in other to boost their financial services as well as create a sustainable environment that will attract all investors and public services. The sustainable approach towards tourism suggest that both cultural, natural and other various resources of tourism are well conserved for continuous use in the future while still bringing significant benefits to the present society. Research has shown that most developed countries that have a sustainable tourism sector, with a successful plan for tourism can bring so many benefits such as improve the attractiveness of the place, job creation for the local community, attract entrepreneurs that will establish small tourist enterprise and attract external investments and also improve the image of the local community (WTO, 2004).

Without adequate planning for tourism it may create unwanted impacts both social and environmental thereby altering the benefits it would have accrued. Developing tourism is therefore a rather complex activity because goods are not produced instead

Indirect revenue is generated which is somewhat different from other sectors of the economy (Hall, 2008). In most sub-Saharan African countries, tourism is relatively a new sector and often government and other agencies lack little or no experience on how to develop the sector properly there by lacking in knowledge on how to develop policies, structural plans, facility standards, institutional factors and all the necessary elements in developing tourism sector in that particular country. Teye 1991 p.288 suggests that Tourism in most sub-Saharan African countries is hardly an industry since the tourism infrastructure is weak, tourism organization is poor, and net revenue is insufficient. Almost all tourist arrivals consist of African nationals’ resident abroad returning to visit friends and relatives, business visitors. The primary vacation or leisure tourism sectors in many African countries are undeveloped. Many cases, tourism policy are a course of government action and inaction in specific decisions in relation to tourism (Hall, 2008).

Policy is also inseparable from politics, Lasswell (1958) describe the situation well when he stated that politics is about who get what’s, when and how in some political systems politics will also include the electoral processes, political ideologies, beliefs values, the policies of political parties, and issue agendas. However it is important to note that there are different political systems in which democratic ideas and systems that do not apply, the transparency and accountability in government processes, legal standing of the individual in relations to government actions and competing polities parties.