With Hotel chains including Rezidor
Hotel Group, Milan Group, The Golden Tulip, Wyndham Hotel Group, Hilton
Worldwide, Ibis and Accor amongst others currently expanding their franchise
services into the Nigerian market, it is evident that the Nigerian Hospitality
and Tourism Industry is a flourishing gold mine. However, this industry is
broader than just the hotel sector; it covers other sectors including
restaurants, Cinemas, bars, resorts, cruise lines, theme parks, event planning
and hosting.

With a population of over 70million
people and an ever increasing middle class population, there is clearly a
market for various services in the Nigerian Hospitality and Tourism Industry.
Currently, there is a rise in new hotel chains establishing in major cities
like Lagos, Abuja, Crossriver State, Rivers State and few others. This is however
not the case in all the other states as people still struggle to get decent
hotels to stay in other smaller states and cities. The restaurant sector has
also experienced a large influx of professionals, intercontinental cuisines and
fast food chains; Nandos, KFC and Ocean Basket amongst others. Although just
like hotels, their presence is felt mostly in larger cities like Lagos, Abuja,
Port Harcourt and the likes, leaving other states with just one or a couple.

There is the general belief that
people with higher spending capabilities tend to live in Lagos, Abuja or Port
Harcourt. While these states have the majority of middle class and rich residents,
they are also present in smaller cities and crave similar luxuries. I remember
living in Benin City as a child; my parents kept searching for nice places for
us to visit. They were very few and always very crowded which then made them
not very conducive.

Besides restaurants and hotels, Nigeria
is a country filled with art (current and ancient) and history that is
showcased sparingly and without enthusiasm. Nigeria in its entirety cannot
boast of 15 museums to serve a population of over 170million people dispersed
around 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory. So many Nigerians have never
been to a museum and those who have been (like me), have only been left disappointed
by the lack of update. It seems like the few museums have been left in the past
and continue to showcase its sparing ancient history without remembering that
new histories may have been formed since its establishment. There are also no specialized
museums dedicated to any fields like military, science or music.

Nigeria has so many beautiful
historical sites ripe for tourism and waiting to be converted into resorts.
Some of these are the Owu falls in Kwara State, The Mambila Plateau in Taraba
State, Idanre Hills in Akure, Ikogosi warm springs in EKiti, Kainji Lake
National Park in Niger and Kwara States, The Ancient Nok Settlement in Jaba,
Kaduna State, Ogbunike Caves in Enugu State, Osun-Oshogbo Grove in Oshogbo
(Unesco World Heritage Site) and Awhum waterfalls in Enugu State, just to
mention a few. Most of the tourist sites mentioned above is highly under
explored and some were developed many years ago and are currently in very poor
states due to poor management and neglect.

With our various rivers, oceans,
ports, beaches and water ways, I am not aware of any cruise ship that operates
from or through Nigeria but I know that many Nigerians will be interested in
going on a cruise from home shores.

There are not so many high standard
theme parks in the country either and the few good ones are always crowded
especially during school breaks and festive periods. There is so much more for
investors to see and explore about the Nigerian Hospitality and Tourism
Industry and we are happy to help.

Olives Consultancy Services assists
investors looking to invest in the Nigerian markets in a variety of ways.
Please visit our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk
for more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.