FG Backs 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Nigerian Creative Economy

The Federal Government has backed a new 100-Day Tourism Calendar aimed at bringing Nigeria’s festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences together on one digital platform as the country targets a $100bn tourism and creative economy.

The calendar, powered by MyCityApp and MyLagosApp, was unveiled at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The initiative is designed to maximise the economic opportunities presented by the September-to-December festive period by connecting tourists, Nigerians in the diaspora and local consumers with events and experiences across the country.

Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, said the government wants to move beyond treating the festive season simply as a period of celebration and instead turn it into a major economic opportunity for businesses, workers and investors.

According to Musawa, tourism creates economic value across a wide range of sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators and hospitality businesses to upload their September-to-December activities onto the national calendar so that visitors can discover events taking place across Nigeria from a single platform.

Musawa said the platform would allow people in Nigeria and abroad to see the range of experiences available across the country, describing it as an effort to deliberately organise, promote and monetise one of the busiest periods on Nigeria’s annual calendar.

Earlier, MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer Ifeoma Chukwu said Nigeria could build a $100bn tourism economy by deliberately packaging and monetising its cultural assets and visitor experiences.

Chukwu argued that the target, although ambitious, is achievable when compared with the contribution of tourism to major economies around the world. She challenged stakeholders to focus on turning Nigeria’s cultural wealth into sustainable economic opportunities.

The initiative is part of wider efforts to increase the contribution of tourism, culture and the creative industries to Nigeria’s economy, while improving the visibility and coordination of events across the country.