The federal government has backed a 100-day tourism calendar designed to attract visitors and drive economic activity during Nigeria’s September-to-December festive season.
Hannatu Musawa, minister of art, culture, tourism and the creative economy, spoke at the Ember2Remember national stakeholders’ conference in Lagos, where MyCityApp was unveiled as the digital platform for the 100-day tourism calendar.
Musawa said the period could be deliberately organised and promoted to create jobs, investment and business opportunities across the tourism value chain.
“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” she said.
“Every visitor creates a value chain — from aviation and transportation to hotels, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans, and local communities. Within these value chains are opportunities for businesses, jobs, investment, and livelihoods.”
According to Musawa, the initiative is aimed at helping unlock what the organisers described as a $100 billion opportunity in Nigeria’s tourism and creative economy.
She called on state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to add their activities to the national calendar.
“If you are organising a festival, concert, exhibition, food experience, cultural celebration, fashion event, sporting event, tourism experience, conference, or any major activity during this period, we want it on the national calendar,” she said.
The minister said the platform would provide a single point where Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors can discover events and experiences taking place across the country.
MyCityApp is expected to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and other lifestyle experiences on its digital platform.
Ifeoma Chukwu, chief executive officer (CEO) of MyCityApp, said Nigeria could increase the economic value generated from tourism by improving how visitors discover and experience events across the country.
“When we speak about building a $100 billion tourism economy, it may sound ambitious. But globally, the evidence tells us it is achievable,” Chukwu said.
She cited tourism contributions to the economies of Spain, France and the United States as examples of the potential size of the sector.
Chukwu said the question for Nigeria is how to convert its cultural and creative resources into greater economic value.
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