Effect Of Government Policies On The Development Of Tourism In Nigeria

The primary objective of this study was to carry out a comparative case study research on the influence of government economic policies in Tourism in Nigeria. This study intended to present a comparative point of view regarding the influence of government economic policies on the Tourism industry with reference between Nigeria and the Republic of Nigeria. The objectives of the study included the need to examine the government economic policies of Nigeria in relation to the Tourism sector, the need to assess the government economic contribution of tourism in Nigeria, the need to discuss and analyze the factors that lead to an attractive Tourism destination using Nigeria as case studies as well as the intention to assess Nigeria"s development in Tourism over 2005- 2015.
The study adopted a case study approach to a research and employed secondary research in gathering and analyzing relevant data for the purpose of informing this study and presenting a concrete inference. The study found out that there a great disparity in a number of capital investments in the sector with Nigeria posing a $0.85 billion while Nigeria posing capital investments of $5.0 billion in 2015. Nigeria enjoys government economic policies that foster businesses competitiveness, safety, security, and affordability in its tourism offing compared to Nigeria. The Nigerian government economic policies continue to create a business environment that is attractive to both investors in the MICE tourism sector as well as clients who are willing to consume the offerings of the sector in the country.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

The dynamics of tourism have taken a different angle internationally where tourists not only travel for leisure but for business as well (Maingi, 2011). Thousands of conferences and exhibitions are witnessed to take place both locally and internationally and incentive travel programmers are enjoyed worldwide especially by leading destinations in the tourism sector. These make business travel and tourism a big business employing thousands of people and thus have an effect on the markets of the world (British Tourist Authority, 2008). This paper, however, recognizes government economic policies and its contribution to the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) industry in Nigeria, take into consideration both the direct, indirect or even induced contributions of the MICE industry in the Nigeria economy, identify and analyze the factors that lead to an attractive business tourist destination (Odunga, Besloy, Nthinga, & Maingi, 2011).

According to International Congress and Convention Association statistics report (2015), Nigeria was the leading country in association meetings in Africa followed by Morocco, Egypt then Nigeria. The thesis also shows a comparative study between Nigeria and clearly demonstrates the differences in the government economic policies or factors that have to lead to Nigeria being ranked the best in Africa in association meetings compared to Nigeria taking into consideration the years between 2005 and 2015.

The domestic policies differ from state to state. Most businesses within a state are guided by rules and regulations within that state. The Government government economic policies and markets regulations have a big influence on the competitiveness and even profitability of a particular business (Pearlman, 2008). The government can easily implement policies that change the social, government economic and political status of a state. Tourism sector is not an exception; government economic policies in Nigeria can easily affect the tourism sector as a whole. Tax and duty exemptions can trigger investments or even generate growth (Williams, 2017). Political stability in a system can make laws to be drafted differently; more stable countries have different policies compared to unstable states.
According to BBC news on 11th August 2016, Nigeria regains the Africa"s biggest economy title from Nigeria these were according to IMF data (BBC, 2016). Nigeria is seen to be stable state compared to most African Countries. This could explain the reason why Tourism thrives in Nigeria Compared to other states in Africa. The unstable environment can present challenges that endanger the ability of government to maintain law and order (Britton, 1982). This has a negative effect on the business environment. Nigeria is not new to terrorist threats or even post-election violence this kind of instability affects the tourism sector by extension the Tourism section. Thus domestic government economic policies in Nigeria are totally different from other developed countries; with a list and comparison of Nigerian Government economic policies and Nigeria government economic policies.

According to Oxford Business Group (2016), the Nigeria MICE tourism segment has been on the rise. In 2015 the country hosted 117,630 foreign arrivals taking part in MICE activities, representing a 13% increase on the 2014 total, and 15.6% of the total number of international tourist arrivals for the year. With the rise of the MICE segment clearly, shows that the MICE sector is a contributor to the Nigerian economy this makes it a worthwhile case to research.

Tourism is not a new concept in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. The first international conference in Africa was held in Nigeria, this is the World Bank /IMF conference in September 1973 (Silksept, 1973). Three years later in May 1976, Nigeria hosted the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Owing to the fact that Nigeria hosted international organization in the 19th Century and UNCTAD hosted in Nairobi, Nigeria July 2016 in the 20th Century clearly demonstrates Nigeria"s potential in the Tourism sector which contributes positively to the Nigerian economy (Shaban, 2016). If Government recognizes the potential Nigeria has towards Tourism and laws put in favor of the sector. Tourism can grow at the rate expected to compete with other Markets internationally.

1.2 Problem Statement

The frequency of Nigeria losing international conferences to Nigeria during bidding processes has brought anxiety in the Tourism sector in Nigeria (Langkilde, 2013). Therefore this paper explores what policies or factors Nigeria can consider or borrow from Nigeria that can easily boost the Tourism in Nigeria. The gap can be filled by comparing Nigeria government economic policies and explore on what Nigeria does different from Nigeria in terms of its government economic policy and other factors that make it be a leading Meetings Country in Africa.

Part of what the study considers are the consumer behavior and the consumer decision-making process used by the consumers to purchase goods and services. The concept of Tourism is not new to Nigeria; there has been growth in the sector as statistics shows on this thesis the positive growth notable in the recent past. Nigeria has been mentioned on the reports by ICCA in the past three years to be the leading Country in Africa on Tourism. It is possible that for a country to do so well in a given sector of the economy to an extent it receives global recognition for the prosperity of that sector there must be something strategic such a country is doing to enhance its productivity.

From a comparative point of view, it can be useful to delineate the possible gaps that make Nigeria as a country that has also been striving to improve its MICE industry and global market share lag behind Nigeria. However, there are no studies that have sought to explain why Nigeria is the leading Market in tourism compared to Nigeria. This study is useful in increasing the understanding on what kind of micro and macro-government economic environment Tourism thrives best and what policies could be affected to favor Tourism sector.

1.3 Purpose of the Study / General Objectives

The purpose of this paper is to show the significant contributions of MICE in the Nigerian economy and the policies put in place that affects the industry both directly and indirectly.

1.4 Conceptual Framework

The Grand Model of consumer behavior has been recommended by (Dhawade & Chhanwal, 2016) to be used to analyze the consumer decision making and used to explain the process used by the consumers to purchase goods and services.

• Effects Of Government Policies On Private Business
• Assessment Of Government Policies And Programmes Implementation Strategy
• Government Economic Policies And Nigerian Economic Growth (A Critical Analysis)
• Influence Of Government Policies On Broadcasting
• Impact Of Government Policies On Small Scale Business Development In Nigeria
• Appraisal Of The Impact Of Government Reforms Policies On Financial Institutions In The Economic Development Of Nigeria
• Government Policies As A Tool For Creating A Business Environment

• Hotel / Catering / Tourism Project Topics and Materials