Economic diversification: Expert identifies strategies for thriving tourism

…Tourism can deliver the golden egg for Nigeria

As Larry Segun-Lean, former President Nigeria Malaysia Business Council,
Chairman of Customer Care Associates(CCA) Ltd., arguably an expert in the nation’s tourism industry has advised the Federal Government to support any private sector within the industry that is serious about developing the sector.

Segun-Lean who is former Chairman Industrial Sector LCCI and former Chairman Tourism LCCI, as well said, the sector can deliver the golden egg for Nigeria.

He observed that nations like United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Malaysia, among others, have developed tourism, saying that it has contributed immensely to their Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

He added that in Nigeria, the government must be able to have a clear, crucial and critical understanding; as they tend to diversify the economy for tourism.

CCA is into hospitality, destination and tourism. The company sets out those three sub- sectors of the economy to create some definition for the industry as a whole by breaking them down.

The tourism outfit disclosed that it has been in existence for 11 years; and was motivated by the love for the business development.

Segun-Lean, who spoke during an interactive session with Daily Times at his Ikeja office in Lagos, recently, pointed out that tourism create jobs more than other sectors of the economy, added that the industry employs more people than oil and gas industry does.

According to him, lukewarm attitude by the government to tourism development would motivate outbound tourist.

He said, “A lot of people in Nigeria do outbound tourism whereby people travel outside the country; and Nigeria does not have inbound tourist, noting that people travel out of the country because destinations have not been developed to bring that relevant attention.”

He further hinted, “We need to make Nigeria a touristic country. We need to think it, we need to be part of it because it would employ more people than other resources we focused on over the years, because 774 local governments in Nigeria can benefit from tourism if well managed.

Meanwhile, the CCA chairman advised the government to have a proper ministry with a mandate to make Nigeria as a whole a touristic destination. “As we expect money from the ministry of petroleum, we should as well expect money from ministry of tourism. We should upgrade our expectation from tourism.”

Continue he noted, “Security has to be a major part of that; we need to encourage our security. There must be tourism police that would be dressed in accordance with managing the image of our country.”

He stressed, “And our airports must meet global standards. People come to the airport and when your airport is friendly and welcoming, it motivates them to stay in that country; and that is the first port of call when they are entry your country. Your airport must be give them confidence and assurance that you are ready for business.”

Continuing, The best in our hospitality sector, according to the CCA boss “must be put in the forefront. So, at the airport angle, we need to do something critical.

“When people come to the country and see that the airport environment is well manicured and world- class, they will want to come back again. But when the airport is ugly and unfriendly, they don’t motivate one to come back. We need to do something critical about our airports. Our airports as gateway to the country.”

Likewise on challenges, he said that skill and regulation have been the problem because we don’t have many training schools for those we want to work in hospitality industry. Advising government also to work with professionals. “We need exposure because many people who are in this part Africa are not well exposed to international hotels practice and management”.

Again, he advised the government to stem the tide the the issue of security and agitation at the airport, stressing that such social vices discourage international tourism.

People want to come to your country and they don’t feel that your country is safe enough for them to come even when you have assured tourists of their safety”.

“From the port of entry they do not really encounter the kind of friendliness that other country will offer them.

He said, “Agitation and restiveness must be discouraged, issues that bothers on Workers welfare be properly addressed to forestall unnecessary industrial down tool, which creates downturn in the economy.

When panic is created in the mind of a tourist, it takes days of their scheduled time to adjust, hence, loss of time and confidence in system.

They do not feel the hospitality enough before they part for another trip. Memory and experience is what you get in staying in the hotel. The memory and experience in the hotel and in the country are very useful to a foreigner, tourist as well.”

According to him, “Visa on arrival is very critical to promote in bound tourist, visa on arrival must be well managed to promote inbound tourism. There must be tourism police also who will be trained to ensure there is no harassment of foreigners as long as they do not have criminal intent; they should allow them to come in free and be happy.

“Tourism is about experience, because hence the experience is horrible you have lost that tourist and you are not only lost that tourist you have lost ten of such people because there will be a word of month and they have influence . You can never account how many potential tourists you have lost by one single ugly incident,” he said.

Segun-Lean pointed out that, “Without promoting tourism in the country we have lost a lot, and there should be a clarion call for this that tourism should be in the front burner for social economic engagement for Nigeria to move to the next level of prosperity.”

According to him, when hotels are in the top shape people come for business, when they stay in a good hotel in a city or in country the memory will retain in their system, they want to come back again and patronize that hotel and when they patronize that hotel they encounter your culture. “You are actually promoting your country, because people that stays in a good hotel or in your hotel no matter how internationalize the hotel is they must encounter the culture of the people of that country.”

Speaking further, he said, “We are constructing a boutique hotel and we recruit our staff from the crop of the people that are available in the industry and we get professionals outside the country who are really skilled and probably have managed international well branded hotels because hotels must be well managed to attract potential customers.

Commenting on the uniqueness of the sector , he said that, “We have some relevant exposure and experience, experience is what we give to management. So far most of our management staff are well travelled. They have been skilled within the global network. Passion is very critical in hospitality management.”

“We have sites that can be developed and they become destinations and hence it become some destination, we now have to understand the business part of that for that to become profitable to the host community and to the country at large. Ones you apply business matrix it becomes beneficiary to the host community and the country at large. Application of business matrix will make a destination profitable.

“We cannot run tourism as just an appendage but it has to be run as full fledge ministry or department with mandate to deliver productivity and in the sense people must know they are practitioners and they must operate as professionals and that would always yield devidend to both the community and the country.”

On the contrary, the former Chairman Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry boss recalled that he had wanted to raise a bar for tourism appreciation in Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria must know that they can earn a leaving from tourism. By the time we been able to achieve that we will come to realized that the 774 local governments in Nigeria are benefiting because every local government in Nigeria will have something to sell, either creative arts, monuments, events natural occurrences among others.
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