Nigeria’s economy is on the cusp of a crisis precipitated by the nose-diving price of oil on the international market. Senior Correspondent, GODDIE OFOSE, writes on stakeholders’ position at the conference of the Brand Journalists’ Association of Nigeria (BJAN) in Osogbo.
Stakeholders have asked the government at all levels to look beyond oil and reposition tourism for global competitiveness, if the country wants to learn lessons from the current volatile international price of oil.
Crude oil prices have been on the decline globally since June, nearing $83 per barrel (pb), down about $32 or 28 per cent, from its high point earlier in the year.
Bonny Light, Nigeria’s reference crude, is trading at about $83 pb.
This made Finance and Economy Coordinating Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to warn that the country would from this month feel the impact and Nigerians should brace for tougher times ahead.
However, stakeholders who attended the Brand Journalists Osun 2014 Conference with the theme, “Tourism Marketing as Catalyst for Economic Development”, argued that this measure could have been avoided if tourism marketing had been taken seriously.
Other countries thrive without oil
Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) President, Femi Adesina, who is also Sun Newspapers Managing Director, said the failure of the government to diversify the economy by promoting tourism is one of the reasons for the effect of oil price fall.
“For years, running into decades, tourism has been identified as one of the veritable alternatives to oil as a major revenue earner for the country,” he recalled.
“Many countries of the world do not have natural resources, and depend largely on earnings from tourism. Israel, despite being beleaguered politically and surrounded by hostile neighbours, thrives on the marketing of its historical sites.
“All year round, tourists and pilgrim’s troop into Israel to visit sites venerated and considered holy by the major religions of the world.”
He disclosed that between 2003 and 2004, Australia’s inbound tourism consumption to Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) was $7.6 billion. “The same happens in many other countries of the world. But here in Nigeria, our potentials lie fallow, dormant, and in most cases, untapped.”
Adesina listed barriers to tourism marketing to include poor infrastructure, insecurity, poor health care, and a lack of political will to use oil proceeds to develop tourism.
Osun bounces after Cuban trip
Osun State Home Affairs, Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Adetona Ayedun, said these barriers have diminished economic growth, reduced profitability in the travel and tour tourism which generate huge income for other countries.
Osun targets N15 billion revenue from tourism by 2015, but Ayedun emphasised that “our vision is to tap into over $3 trillion revenue available globally through tourism.
He said the N15 billion revenue projection is “technically and consciously” proved by “robust gains” interrelationship with tourism and culturally endowed nations like Cuba.
Osun improved infrastructure such as roads, power, and security after government officials visited Cuba to learnt about tourism marketing
“Our business visitation to Cuba has exposed us to ideas on how tourism and culture could be promoted as revenue earners for the State of Osun in particular and Nigeria in general.
“This is what we are doing and we are reaping benefits from the actions.”
Information and Strategy Commissioner, Sunday Akere, urged the federal and state governments to avoid the curse of oil and market tourism as economy driver.
Turnaround strategy
To reposition tourism, Adesina, said irreducible minimums include, but are not limited to, the following:
Marketing Strategy
Does an army go to war without first formulating a strategy to combat the enemy? Does a soccer team enter the pitch for a competitive game without a strategy to rout the opponent? Does a pilot get into the airspace without first having a flight plan?
So can you not also reposition tourism destination without marketing strategy.
How do we do it? When? Where? To which end? Who are the people that will do it? What are the resources needed? What are the tools to employ?
All these are germane questions, but as I said earlier, Nigeria is not lacking in recommendations and theoretical frameworks.
A lot of them have been codified and outlined over the years, but are gathering dust in the shelves of our ministries, agencies, and parastatals. Now is the time to dust them up, update them, and begin to run with the vision.
But definitively, we must formulate what should be our national strategy for repositioning Nigeria as a tourism destination.
The push and pull factors: What are the things that motivate tourists in their choices of destination? These are called the push and pull factors, and Nigeria must necessarily take care of them, if she would take her place as one of the world’s favourite tourism destinations.
Some of those push and pull factors include:
Infrastructure
Do we have the roads, the hotels, the tourist sites, the airline services, the water transport, and other means of mass transport that can support tourism? These Nigerian roads that have become death traps? Roads where you spend hours on end for journeys that should just take about half an hour?
An airline industry where flights are delayed endlessly, or cancelled whimsically ‘due to operational reasons?’ Or waterways where ferries capsize at frightful intervals?
All these are infrastructure that support tourism, and to move forward, Nigeria must devote a large chunk of its annual budgets to infrastructure upgrade.
Security
Can there ever be tourism in the face of massive insecurity characterised by insurgency, kidnappings, robberies on highways, and murders? Not at all.
The tourist wants rest, recreation, relaxation, fun, an experience of a lifetime. But he does not want to lose his life in the process. As long as Nigeria fails to solve the insecurity problem, so long will the tourism Eldorado elude her.
Reports of insecurity, particularly of terrorism and kidnappings, elicit international attention. And Nigeria has a surfeit of those kinds of reports now.
It will affect our fortunes as a tourism destination, no matter how hard we market ourselves. Get security right, and the tourists will flock in.
Cost
The tourist wants rest and relaxation, but he does not want to pay an arm and leg for it. Costs of goods and services are rather prohibitive in Nigeria, compared to other countries on the continent, and even in the world.
Yes, our economy has been rebased, and is supposedly the largest in Africa, but what impact has it made on goods and services? Do you notice that our top hotels perhaps charge the highest rates in the world? Do a comparative study, and you would see the truth in it.
The tourist wants quality, but at reasonable prices. Some families save round the year, in order to take a holiday. Should they then land in the debtors prison after the holiday, because they have been completely fleeced of their earnings?
For Nigeria to compete as a global tourism destination, the government must work harder to keep the economy on an even keel, so that prices of goods and services can be stable, and within reach.
Political stability
Which tourist wants to visit a country in turmoil, or one that could disintegrate at the next hour? Not many. Which tourist wants to visit a country where lawmakers are seen on global TV being tear-gassed, and scaling dangerous fences to get access into parliament?
Which tourist wants to visit a country where elections are followed by flares of violence, with many lying dead on the streets? Not many. That is why Nigeria must get her politics right. It has grave implications for tourism.
Time will not permit us to look at the other push and pull factors individually.
They include entertainment, friendliness (and this must start right from the airport), available cultural and historic sites, natural endowments, health and fitness facilities, adventure, good climate, good and clean beaches, culture, sense of belonging, novelty, shopping at reasonable prices, night life, cuisine, satisfaction, et cetera.
When tourists get all the above and more, what you get is loyalty, and return visits. There will also be massive recommendations to other people, which will drive up traffic. There is nothing better than a fulfilled tourist.
Repositioning
We may as well ask ourselves: why reposition? Is it by force? Well, it is by force. Without repositioning, we will not get the best that is possible from our tourism.
There is now increasing worldwide competition, with each country putting its best tourism foot forward.
Also, we must reposition because the preferences of tourists keep changing. What you offered a year or two ago may not suffice for today or tomorrow.
Again, we must reposition because having a fixed image would not promote a destination effectively. That is why the world’s greatest brands keep coming out with different types of advertisements and promotions.
Repositioning allows you to rejuvenate your tourism destination. It also allows you to know your client, his needs, motives, drives, purchasing behavior, and how you can respond appropriately.