Hospitality and Tourism Sector contributed 4.8% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2016 – Proshare
The Hospitality / Tourism Industry in Nigeria contributed about 4.8% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product in 2016. This was disclosed by Africa’s number one hotel booking online portal, Jumia Travel in its 2017 report and outlook for Nigeria.
Giving further insight into the report, Mr Kushal Dutta the Managing Director Jumia Travel, Nigeria in his presentation said the industry also employed about 1.6% of Nigerians in the year 2016.
Highlighting the key developments, the Dutta noted that in terms of travel contributions to the GDP, foreign spending accounted for 3% while domestic spending took the bulk of 97%.
Assessing growth in the Hospitality Industry, the Jumia report showed that about 9,000 new hotels emerged in the previous year, with competitive price rates across the country.
It was also observed from the report, that while there was increase in domestic travels, activities for corporate travellers declined in the country for year 2016.
Mr Dutta identified Infrastructure and the current Forex regime in the country, as the challenges the Hospitality/Tourism Industry faced in 2016, which in various way impacted the sector.
On the outlook for 2017 the Jumia Travel Nigeria Country Manager, asserted that domestic travels in the country will increase, while international travels will experience a decline due to forex issues and political uncertainties.
According to Dutta “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”.
He said despite the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), the government needs to fashion out a clear policy roadmap that will reposition the tourism industry in Nigeria.
In his intervention at the 2017 Jumia Travel report, Hospitality consultant Mr. Bruce Prins described 2016 as a year the Hotel Industry suffered extreme pressure in Nigeria.
Mr. Prins however noted that Hotels that promoted domestic services in 2016, achieved remarkable strides in the previous year, but also admitted that the price war between many hotels undermined the hospitality industry’s perceived value, and also created a lot of degradation in so far as the quality on offer is concerned.
The Hospitality Consultant identified the following as key trends that will shape the Hospitality Industry industry in 2017; availability of recreational facilities, 24-hour reservation/online booking service, social media ease, renovation/facility management and ease of travel.
Source: Proshare
