By Jimoh Babatunde

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s tourism sector are voicing their worries about the country’s struggle to turn its rich cultural heritage into a thriving tourism economy, even as the world increasingly recognizes its vibrant music, delicious food, and unique fashion.

While Nigerian Afrobeats, jollof rice, and Nollywood films have captured significant international interest, tourism experts point out that the nation still lags in cultural tourism. This is largely due to neglected infrastructure, poor management of tourist sites, and safety concerns in areas rich in heritage.

At a recent tourism roundtable in Lagos, tour operators, consultants, and cultural advocates highlighted what they see as a “disconnect between cultural exports and tourism returns.” They are calling on the government to focus on developing cultural sites, enhancing local storytelling, and improving security.

Although a high-profile cultural festival takes place in Nigeria-the Osun-Osogbo Festival, Argungu Fishing Festival, Durbar in Kano, etc., it is said by experts that a lot of these events are very isolated without long-term planning to support them.

“There is little continuity or visitor infrastructure beyond the festival period,” says Adanna Okonkwo, a cultural tour guide. “After the crowd leaves, most of the sites return to silence-they do not have programs, signage, or maintenance.”

Some festivals, once attracting foreign tourists, now function with limited funding, very little media attention, and lack of good access roads. Tourists encounter such problems as housing, language, and lack of qualified guides.

Some of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Nigeria are the Sukur Cultural Landscapes in Adamawa and the Sacred Grove of Osun-Osogbo in Osun State. These two sites, however, have been cited for deterioration and lack updated management plans.

According to the NTDA’s report, only a part of Nigeria’s heritage and historical landmarks is open to regular visitation and even fewer have interpretive centres or multilingual materials. Tour operators say this contributes to low repeat visits from both international and domestic tourists. “They visit once for curiosity but will never return because nothing new or organized is being offered to experience,” said Chuka Eze, who manages a cultural tour company in Lagos.

One of the primary concerns expressed by tourism professionals is the security situation in certain regions of the country where cultural tourism typically flourishes. Areas like Kaduna, Zamfara, Taraba, and Plateau, which are home to numerous cultural heritage sites, have experienced increasing insecurity over the past five years, including attacks by armed groups, communal conflicts, and kidnappings on roads.

“Most operators no longer include Northern heritage destinations on their lists, not because they lack appeal, but because the risks surpass the benefits,” stated Michael Ajassi, a travel consultant based in Lagos.

Ajassi further explained that his team had to cancel three trips to heritage villages in the Middle Belt in 2023 due to safety alerts, despite interest from international visitors. “The global audience is eager to explore our rich cultural offerings,” he noted. “However, we have not done enough to ensure their safety and comfort.”

The Nigerian tourism industry operates throughout several ministries and companies, together with Culture, Information, Tourism, and Youth Development. However, experts say this fragmentation has made it hard to put in force a unified cultural tourism approach.

“There is no valuable registry or database of cultural tourism belongings,” said Ajassi. “Each state promotes handiest what it manages, without a country wide synergy or advertising and marketing strategy. It’s uncoordinated.”

Efforts to rebrand Nigerian tourism, consisting of the “Tour Nigeria” campaign with the aid of the NTDA — have focused extra on lifestyle reviews and urban enjoyment than conventional cultural tourism, in step with analysts.

Ajassi believes the branding imbalance is partly liable for the overrepresentation of music and nightlife in Nigeria’s tourism identity. “When people abroad suppose ‘Visit Nigeria,’ they assume concert events and clubs, no longer palaces or pottery,” he stated. “The cultural facet of Nigeria has been below-promoted, although it holds greater historical and emotional cost.”

Call for Policy and Investment Reform

Stakeholders are calling for policy changes and accelerated government funding to restore the cultural tourism zone. Recommendations encompass organising a countrywide cultural tourism fund, digitizing website get right of entry to, growing schooling applications for local guides, and restoring historical past infrastructure.

Some states, which include Lagos and Osun, have initiated partnerships with non-public operators to enhance heritage management and community involvement. However, experts say those efforts remain confined in scale and impact.

A 2022 file via the African Development Bank positioned Nigeria at the back of nations like Kenya, Egypt, and Ghana in tourism competitiveness, in part due to underinvestment in cultural preservation and low traveler satisfaction. Nigeria is known throughout the world for its innovative culture, but the domestic systems required to capitalise on this reputation for tourism income are still in their infancy. Experts caution that unless intentional measures are taken, Nigeria runs the risk of losing both tourists and cultural significance due to growing competition from other African nations. Ajassi stated, “We will only be known for the noise, not the roots, if we don’t take culture seriously as an industry.”