Tourism contributes N1.7bn to GDP in Q3 2016

Published by Minfow

Posted on February 1, 2017

By Princewill Ekwujuru
THE tourism industry contributed N1.7billion ($ 5.5 million), about 4.8 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, in the third quarter of 2016. The figure is expected to fall by 7.3 percent in 2017, according to the Nigeria Hospitality Report, 2016.

The report indicated that the contribution was a major boost to the economy especially since the country’s GDP shrank 2.24 percent year-on-year, YoY, in the third quarter of 2016. According to the report by 2017, the contribution of the sector is expected to fall by 7.3 percent if the security challenges in the country still persist.

Managing director of Jumia Travel Nigeria, Kushal Dutta, while reviewing the content of this year’s report at a press conference in Lagos, said Nigeria generated 97 percent of its tourism revenue from domestic travel in 2016, while foreign travel accounted for only three percent. He said that despite the security challenges in the country a lot of Nigerians preferred to travel within the country to spend their holidays at exciting tourist destinations. But this preference, according to him, appeared to be aided by the high dollar exchange rate.

He stated: “This is a good sign that we need to encourage a lot more travels within the country by designing attractive holiday packages that will be exciting enough for Nigerians to want to spend money on tourism within the country. As a company, we are interested in collaborating to encourage more Nigerians to enjoy their holidays within Nigeria.” The 2016 report, which is the second edition, captured the development, impediments, and impact of technology on the country’s travel industry between January and December 2016.

Categories: Tourism