Tourism is an important sector of the Nigerian economy that needs to be improved on since it is of great importance to the development of the country. It involves traveling for relaxation or business purposes. When tourists travel to a place of interest, they experience the way of life of the people and get to visit sites of attraction. In Nigeria, tourism is important for the numerous benefits it brings as well as the role it plays in generating employment and government revenue. In this article, the importance of tourism in Nigeria will be discussed extensively.
The importance of tourism in Nigeria will be discussed below:
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Tourism Generates Employment and Creates Jobs
One of the importance of tourism in Nigeria is employment generation and job creation. We all know that the unemployment rate in Nigeria is relatively high. Tourism provides employment opportunities. Such employment opportunities include tour guides, waiters in restaurants, and hotel staff, among others. Tourism also creates an opportunity for business development. For instance, when there are festivals that attract tourists, some persons in the host community tend to establish businesses such as setting up restaurants and souvenir shops.
When tourists visit places, they tend to patronize locally made goods. Since tourists like to buy local souvenirs, this helps in providing additional revenue to the local budget. When the locals earn money from the services they render the tourists, it helps in the eradication of poverty. This also helps in reducing poverty in the country at large as well as improving the overall standard of living of the people. There is an entire boost in the commercial activities in the areas close to the tourist attractions. People open shops. Flights and international travel agencies also have more patronage. They will also need to hire more people to efficiently function.
Also, even car renting services as well as other commercial intra-city transportation firms experiences more patronage due to the presence of tourists. All these activities increase the availability of jobs and reduce unemployment in the country.
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Tourism Generates Income and Foreign Exchange for The Hosting Communities
When people travel for tourism purposes, they tend to spend money. During festivities, tourists buy things in the host community. They spend money on souvenirs, food and drinks, hotel accommodation, petrol, parking fees, gate fees, and so on. Tourists from other countries usually come with foreign currencies that they have to change to naira. This, therefore, provides foreign exchange for the country. All the money spent by the tourists helps to stabilize the country’s economy.
The income generated from tourism is used at the local and national levels. These monies are used to improve infrastructures and also to improve the educational facilities in communities. When these tourists travel to tourist locations, they don’t hold back with respect to spending. They spend money without limit. With the increase in tourist locations, as a result of the income generated from the tourists visiting and patronizing the locals, all these commercial activities the economy of the country.
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Tourism Boosts The Speed of Infrastructural Development
When tourists visit the local communities, it helps to boost the speed of infrastructural development. The more tourists, the more money that would be generated that will be used to provide new roads and other social and public amenities for the indigenous people. When there are good facilities in the host communities, this would in turn attract more tourists. The indigenous people are the ones that would enjoy the amenities provided.
Tourism generates enough revenue that would be used to build hospitals, markets, and schools and also provide good pipe-borne water and electricity. Normally, infrastructure that is below par has been a dilemma for investors seeking to invest in rural communities. Private establishments and individuals are also discouraged from owning investments in these areas due to the inadequate infrastructure. It is quite noticeable that once the government provides such lacking infrastructure such as motorable roads, these private establishments seeking to invest In the local economy can effortlessly do so. Therefore, infrastructural development brings about a boost in the economy of the host communities. All these are factored by tourism.
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Tourism Provides Environmental and Ecological Benefits to The Country
When tourists visit places of tourist attraction, this tourism provides funds that can be used to conserve the ecosystem and also support natural resource management in the country. Since the indigenous people are aware of the fact that they are hosting tourists, they make their community and tourist locations more attractive and original. The key communities that are involved in the tourism sector of the Nigerian economy spend money on taking care of their towns, ensuring that the towns are neat at all times.
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Tourism Helps in Diversification
Tourism helps communities that formally derive their gross income from agricultural practices and other practices, develop a new form of income. In the case of rainy days, this serves as an insurance scheme as the extra income gotten from tourism can help finance indigenous companies if the need arises. Tourism also helps in increasing the creative potentials of indigenous business people who derive extra income from tourism. In other words, tourism helps to support local companies with additional money when they face financial challenges.
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Tourism Provides Social Benefits
When people travel to various locations in the country both from within the country and outside the country, with the sole aim of tourism, they bring new ideas and culture to their host communities. The host communities also have their own culture and ideas that they are willing to share with the outside world. Hence, a person can witness cultural diversification. The indigenous people also have the opportunity to promote and display their culture to these visitors.
Tourists pay money to watch the locals showcase their culture through local dances and drama. They also display their locally made products to the tourists so they can patronize them. All these acts help to preserve the cultural heritage of the people of the host communities.