Steve Agbota,[email protected]
With a coastline of 852 kilometres bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea and a maritime area of over 46,000 km2, obviously, Nigeria is a richly endowed maritime nation.
It possesses both fresh and mangrove swamps, creeks, coastal rivers, estuaries, bays, and near and offshore waters, moreso, as eight of its 36 states with 25 per cent of Nigeria’s total population sharing the Atlantic Ocean coastline.
However, despite these endowments and abundant resources in oceans and seas to back its economic diversification and development drive, the country is yet to take full advantage of its ocean resources especially in the maritime tourism subsector to expand its economy.
Part of the challenges facing the Nigerian economy according to experts is the neglect of the nation’s maritime tourism business, which remains untapped while other regions and countries like United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central and South America have continued to exploit market opportunities abounding in their marine tourism. This is as Africa countries like South Africa and others have been raking in huge revenues annually from their maritime tourism.
Looking at the tourism sector in general, top 10 African countries with the largest number of international tourists arrivals in 2018, saw Morocco ranking as number one, with South Africa in number two, followed by Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Cote d’lvoire, Uganda, Kenya, Mauritus, Estwatini and Togo respectively, according to information obtained from a statistical website. In that same year, Morocco raked in $7.5 billion and South Africa earned $8.8 billion.
Regrettably, Nigeria was not among top 10 even could not make number 15 of the African nations visited by tourists in 2018.
But it is believed that if Nigeria’s maritime tourism industry is developed and attracts private investors; it could have multiplier effect on its tourism sector in general.
Presently, the global maritime tourism business is worth over $6.45 trillion, with Nigeria losing out in the massive opportunities embedded in the industry due to inability of successive governments to design and drive a coordinated policy framework to address this emergent reality. But as demand for tourism expands worldwide, there are still immense opportunities for investors to exploit Nigeria‘s coastal and maritime resorts for revenue generation and job creation. These opportunities include the creation of a marine mall, cruise ships and the fostering of marine sports. Ideally, driving the growth of marine tourism through increased investment can be a huge area of opportunity for the private investor.
Also, the marine environment is one of the most attractive settings for tourism and recreation, which involve a wide spectrum of activities, such asscuba diving and snorkeling, wind surfing, fishing, observation of marine mammals and birds, the ferry industry, beach activities, sea kayaking, visits to fishing villages and lighthouses, maritime museums, sailing and motor yachting, maritime events, Arctic and Antarctic tourism among the numerous opportunities embedded in the marine tourism.
According to experts, the maritime industry is a key sector of the Nigerian economy, and for investors to come into its tourism arm, the Federal Government must provide an enabling environment, fix its entire infrastructure, and ensure the safety of the waters for tourists.
Stakeholders who spoke with Daily Sun identified maritime insecurity, criminal activities at sea, climate vulnerability, and poor infrastructure among others as factors militating against the development of Nigeria’s maritime tourism and blue economy.
They argued that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) should be encouraged and empowered to effectively combat the menace of pirate and other illegal activities on the nation’s maritime domain, considering that safety and security on the Nigeria’s territorial waters will boost foreign investment in the maritime tourism subsector.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, called for concerted effort by stakeholders towards the development of coastal and maritime tourism.
Dakuku stated this recently while receiving an award at the Second Edition of the National Tourism and Transport Summit in Abuja.
He urged coastal states to follow the example of Lagos in making conscious efforts to harness their maritime potential.
Dakuku, who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, explained that with Nigeria’s maritime endowments, maritime tourism could be a major revenue earner and huge contributor to the government’s economic diversification agenda.
He added: “While the tourism potential in other aspects of the economy are being maximised to a reasonable extent, the potential of coastal and maritime tourism in Nigeria remains grossly under-tapped.”
He challenged coastal states in the country to emulate Lagos, saying it is the only state that has shown substantial commitment towards developing maritime tourism as a critical pillar of its economic development.
According to him, with a coastline of about 852 kilometres and an inland waterways of over 8, 000 kilometres, Nigeria has the natural habitat to grow its maritime tourism industry to be one of the biggest in the sub-region. There is need to deliberate on ways of harnessing the interdependence of tourism and transport for the sustainable growth and development of the tourism industry, in particular, and the Nigerian economy, as a whole.
According to a tourist expert, Mr. Soleye Adyinka, concerted efforts have to be made to address the problems militating against the maritime tourism in the country, adding that coastal and maritime tourism can be a major source of growth and jobs, especially for the youth.
He said coastal and marine space being one of the largest segments of the maritime economic sectors, as well as the largest component of the tourism industry, it can create wealth and reduce poverty in Nigeria if well harnessed.