Boosting Nigerian Economy through Hospitality
We have all watched as petroleum, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy since 1970, has undergone a sharp decline in demand in the world market. It is definitely time for Nigeria to look to another source to provide the much-needed boost for the economy. Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, the majority of which are untapped and unexplored.
African countries like Ghana, Kenya and South Africa are not as blessed as Nigeria in terms of mineral and natural resources but they have built thriving tourist havens with the few resources available to them .
Over the last decade, Nigeria has seen a boost in the hospitality industry because more individuals and corporations like Hotelnownow.com are starting to realise that there is a huge unexplored market for tourism in Nigeria.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the tourism sector was directly responsible for 1,560 Billion Naira entering into the economy, as well as 1.7% of the GDP in Nigeria in 2014. Also, due to the increase in tourist activities in 2014, over two million jobs were created, causing the total employment rate to rise by 3.6%.
With this growth, it has been estimated that the tourism and hospitality industry will start contributing about 5.8% to the GDP in ten years. This is incentive enough for Nigeria to start focusing more energy on developing and enhancing these natural resources so readily available in all parts of Nigeria. It has been estimated that a whopping 500 Million Dollars is spent annually by Nigerians leaving the shores of Nigeria for other countries.
Nigeria has a lot of beautiful spots that rival some of the destinations where we Nigerians are always running off to-Imagine the impact 500million dollars will have on the groaning Nigerian economy. Below is an infographic of some of the beautiful sites in Nigeria that can potentially become tourist hotspots.
We all need to make a conscious effort to contribute to boosting the Nigerian economy, so why not buy Naija to grow the Naira? Why not take a leisure trip to one of these spots instead of taking a more expensive trip abroad? Of course, planning a trip to somewhere unfamiliar comes with the headache of actually getting accommodation that won’t turn out to be a major disappointment.
This is why Hotelnownow.com is there- to help you take care of all the ‘wahala’ of booking hotels.