Why tourists are not rushing to Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the emerging market countries  failing to capitalise on their tourism potential, according to analysis by Renaissance Capital, an emerging market-focused investment bank.

 

Nigeria generated tourism revenues equivalent to just 0.1 per cent of its gross domestic product, about $500m in 2015, according to data from the IMF, compared with 2.3 per cent in nearby Ghana, 3.8 per cent in Rwanda and 6.2 per cent in Madagascar.

 

Out of 43 African countries for which there is comparable data, only the Democratic Republic of Congo benefits less from tourism.

 

According to Charles Robertson, Renaissance Capital’s chief economist, thesis is that serial under-achievers like Nigeria suffer from onerous visa regimes that deter many potential visitors.

The well traveled Robertson believes Nigeria can earn as much as $8bn in tourist revenues yearly if it took the care just to match what Ghana is doing.