Travel/Tourism
Learning From Seychelles To Grow Nigeria’s Travel & Tourism Industry
By Olukayode Kolawole
Travel & Tourism’s impact on the economic and social development of a country can be enormous; opening it up for business, trade and capital investment, creating jobs and entrepreneurship for the workforce and protecting heritage and cultural values.
To fully understand its impact, however, governments, policy makers and businesses around the world require accurate and reliable data on the impact of the sector.
Data is needed to help assess policies that govern future industry development and to provide knowledge to help guide successful and sustainable Travel & Tourism investment decisions.
The industry generated US$7.6 trillion (10% of global GDP) and 277 million jobs (1 in 11 jobs) for the global economy in 2014. Recent years have seen Travel & Tourism growing at a faster rate than both the wider economy and other significant sectors such as automotive, financial services and health care.
Last year was no exception. International tourist arrivals also surged, reaching nearly 1.14 billion and visitor spending more than matched that growth.
Visitors from emerging economies now represent a 46% share of these international arrivals (up from 38% in 2000), proving the growth and increased opportunities for travel from those in these new markets.
One of such countries to learn from is Seychelles. The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to its GDP was 21.3% of total GDP in 2014 and it is forecast to rise by 6.0% in 2015 and to rise by 4.9% pa, from 2015-2025, to 24.7% of total GDP in 2025. In 2014, Travel & Tourism directly supported 10,500 jobs (22.9% of total employment). This is expected to remain unchanged in 2015 and rise by 2.5% pa to 14,000 jobs (28.1% of total employment) in 2025.
This included employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.
By 2025, Travel & Tourism will account for 14,000 jobs directly, an increase of 2.5% pa over the next ten years.
What has been largely responsible for such growth and enormous contribution to the country’s GDP? Seychelles relies on its local experts in drawing up a Masterplan.
It doesn’t solicit the support of a global agency, or foreign expertise to grow its tourism industry. Nigeria as a country can take learnings from Seychelles if it is to make any significant progress in turning the tourism and hospitality industry into a melting pot for the economy.
The tourism industry remains the pillar of the Seychelles economy, which is why the Government continues to consult to ensure the industry is consolidated for the long term. The country’s tourism strategic plan set out for the upcoming five years covers strategic areas pointing to policy formulation, product development, human resource development and risk management.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has been assisting Nigeria in drafting a Masterplan for moving the country’s tourism forward. Worthy of mentioning is the fact that this Masterplan hasn’t been able to contribute greatly to its growth.
Experts have stated that some of the factors crippling the successful implementation of the Plan may include: Nigeria’s difficult governance environment, local conditions were not taken into consideration and the political implication of that error crippled the project to a point where it could not take off since 2006. Sadly, the country’s tourism minister had gone back to the UNWTO to seek for help in making the unworkable Plan work.
No doubt, the action plans suggested by the apex tourism agency are indeed virile to boost any country’s tourism industry. Some of the actions include: technical assistance, capacity building and the revision of the country’s Tourism Master Plan, organisation of international conferences in Nigeria and the certification of tourism courses, widening access to the e-library for Nigerian tourism officials and offering support for relevant tourism institutions and agencies in Nigeria; data collection for the elaboration of tourism statistics, rural tourism development, hotel classification and in designing programmes to create awareness for tourism.
Whilst all these plans are plausible, there is need to allow the local expertise to draft a Masterplan for promoting this sector with a view to turning it into a melting pot.
Besides, these local experts understand the Nigerian environment better than any foreign agency. This is not to say that the intention of the apex global agency is bad. Rather, this is a call for inclusion of more local experts who also have international exposure.
Additionally, there is also need to collaborate with industry players within the sector. Such players will include hoteliers, travel consultants, hotel booking portals like Jumia Travel, channel managers and many more.
Growing Nigeria’s tourism and travel industry will definitely require some time. The determination to get it right once-and-for-all should propel the honourable Minister to accommodate more local experts to drive the tourism agenda, as against seeking to have the Masterplan revised by UNWTO.
*Data Source: World Travel & Tourism Council.
Olukayode Kolawole is the Head of PR & Marketing at Jumia Travel NG
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria was exempted from a provisional list of 43 countries that the United States, under the administration of President Donald Trump, is mulling a new travel ban for their citizens.
Business Post reports that out of the 43 countries, 22 of them are in Africa but Nigeria is so far exempted.
According to reports, the draft list featured 43 countries, divided into three categories of travel restrictions – red, orange, and yellow.
The red category of countries whose citizens would be completely barred from entering the United States includes Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
Another 10 countries in the orange category — Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan — would see their visas sharply restricted.
The New York Times reported that in these cases, affluent business travelers might be allowed to enter, but not people traveling on immigrant or tourist visas.
Citizens from countries on the orange list would also have to undergo in-person interviews to receive a visa.
Another 22 countries on a yellow list would have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being moved up to one of the more stringent categories.
“The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations, cautioned that the list had been developed by the State Department several weeks ago, and that changes were likely by the time it reached the White House,” the New York Times said.
This is reminiscent of moves carried out by President Trump in his first stint as president, when he banned some Muslim majority counties like Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — which ignited international outrage and led to domestic court rulings against it.
Iraq and Sudan were dropped from the list, but in 2018 the Supreme Court upheld a later version of the ban for the other nations — as well as North Korea and Venezuela.
Already, the US President has frozen the US refugee admission programme and almost all foreign aid.
Provisional Ban List
Red list
Countries whose citizens would be completely barred from entering the United States include:
1. Afghanistan
2. Bhutan.
3. Cuba.
4. Iran
5. Libya
6. North Korea
7. Somalia
8. Sudan
9. Syria
10. Venezuela
11. Yemen
Orange list
Citizens from countries on the orange list would also have to undergo in-person interviews to receive a visa. These countries include:
12. Belarus
13. Eritrea
14. Haiti
15. Laos
16. Myanmar
17. Pakistan
18. Russia
19. Sierra Leone
20. South Sudan
21. Turkmenistan
Yellow List
They would have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being moved up to one of the more stringent categories. The following countries fall into that category:
22. Angola
23. Antigua and Barbuda
24. Benin
25. Burkina Faso
26. Cambodia
27. Cameroon
28. Cape Verde
29. Chad
30. Republic of Congo
31. Democratic Republic of Congo
32. Dominica
33. Equatorial Guinea
34. Gambia
35. Liberia
36. Malawi
37. Mali
38. Mauritania
39. St. Kitts and Nevis
40. St. Lucia
41. São Tomé and Príncipe
42. Vanuatu
43. Zimbabwe.
The latest analysis from Astons, reveals that Greece has seen a 14.6% increase in migrants settlers over the past 10 years, with almost 25,000 Americans settling in the Mediterranean paradise in 2024 alone. However, this trend could soon reverse, with rumours that Greece is set to call time on its Golden Visa offering.
Astons has analysed International Migrant data from the United Nations* and found that, in 2024, more than 1.4m migrants settled in Greece, marking a ten-year increase of 14.6% since 2015.
The largest proportion of migrants arrived from the European continent (913,652), followed by Asia (372,146), Africa (68,690), and North America (38,416).
On a national level, Greece welcomed the largest number of people from Albania (474,441), followed by Germany (123,912), Georgia (90,365), Bulgaria (90,365), and Russia (78,992).
Meanwhile, 24,748 migrants resettled in Greece from the USA, and 19,156 arrived from the UK, marking a ten-year increase of 8.6% in both instances.
Many migrants looking to settle in Greece opt for the nation’s Golden Visa as a pathway to gaining residency and figures from Astons show that an estimated 8,837 applications were made in 2024 – the highest number seen since 2019.
However, this could be about to change, as Astons has seen a sharp increase in activity so far this year, driven by investor urgency around rumours that Greece is set to withdraw its Golden Visa offering.
Citizenship, residence permit, and real estate investment expert for Astons, Alena Lesina, said, “Greece has become one of Europe’s most in-demand destinations for migrants from all over the world, but residency in the country is certainly most desirable for the ultra-wealthy due to its investment potential and favourable expat tax rules, which explains why almost 25,000 Americans have chosen to settle there in the past year alone.
“There are some rumors, but no official confirmation. However, we understand that the situation in any country with a Golden Visa program can always change. The European Commission is putting significant pressure on countries offering Golden Visas, and internally, there is growing tension related to the need to address housing issues.
“History shows a clear trend – Ireland’s Golden Visa was discontinued, Spain’s program will officially end on April 3 this year. Last year, Portugal removed the real estate investment option from its program. In 2022, the UK also shut down its Tier 1 investor program.
“For now, Greece is maintaining its program and we can reasonably expect that it will remain in place for at least another year. However, it’s best not to delay making a decision for too long in case they decision is made to call time on Greece’s Golden visa.”
The Governor of Plateau State, Mr Caleb Mutfwang, has assured full government support for the N8.5 billion Hill Station Resort revitalization project, embarked on by Hillside Hospitality Limited, an investee company of Strom Infrastructure Investments and Management Limited. The renewed commitment came during a high-level stakeholder engagement meeting aimed at accelerating the historic resort’s transformation.
Speaking through the Secretary to the State Government, in Jos, Plateau State, on Monday, Mr Samuel Jatau, Governor Mutfwang emphasized the project’s significance to Plateau’s development agenda.
“The people of Plateau are diligent, hardworking, and committed. We will support and patronise this development to ensure its success,” he said.
The ambitious project, set to commence construction in March 2025, represents a strategic partnership between the Plateau State Government and Hillside Hospitality Limited. Following the signing of the Heads of Terms Agreement in July 2024, the initiative aims to restore the 1938 structure while introducing modern amenities and luxury facilities.
Speaking on the project’s vision, the Director of Hillside Hospitality Limited, Mr Kolapo Joseph, described the Hill Station project as a groundbreaking initiative that seeks to transform hospitality and tourism in Plateau State.
“This project is about more than just revitalisation, it is a dedicated effort to honour Hill Station’s rich heritage while introducing world-class hospitality standards.
“Our vision is to create a destination that seamlessly integrates luxury, culture, and nature, ensuring an exceptional experience for visitors in the heart of Jos.
“We recognise that Plateau State holds immense potential as a hospitality hub, and we are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure this transformation drives economic growth, generates employment, and instils a renewed sense of pride in the community.
“Through collaboration and strategic investment, we aim to develop Hill Station Resort into a landmark destination that reflects the very best of Nigerian tourism,” he stated.
Mr Joseph expressed gratitude for the continued support from the Plateau State Government and private sector partners, adding: “This is not just an investment in infrastructure; it is an investment in Plateau’s future. We are creating a resort that will attract business and leisure travelers alike, unlocking new opportunities for the local economy while preserving the unique identity of this historic site.
“With the right partnerships, we will position Plateau State as a premier global tourism destination, one that showcases its rich cultural heritage and natural beauty to the world.”
In his remarks, another Director of Hillside Hospitality, Mr Hakeem Condotti, highlighted Strom Infrastructure’s deep connection to Plateau State through its involvement with NESCO Nigeria.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to preserving and enhancing historical landmarks while driving economic growth in the region,” he said.
The revitalized resort, scheduled for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2025, will feature state-of-the-art conference facilities, premium accommodations, and leisure amenities, positioning Jos as a premier destination for business and leisure travel.
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