Tourism Sector to Contribute 1.6% to Nigeria’s GDP

World Travel and Tourism Council, WTTC, has forecasted that the Nigerian travel and tourism industry  would contribute 1.6 per cent directly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product by 2024, which represents N1.366 billion.

The Council also predicted that travel and tourism industry would support direct employment to the tune of 1,194,000 in the next decade, which represents 1.4 per cent total employment in the country. The Council stated this in its review of the sector in Nigeria since 2013.

According to the forecast, direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was N757.3bn in 2013, which was 1.6 per cent of total GDP in that year, rose to 2.5 per cent in 2014 and it’s expected to rise by 5.8 per annum from 2014 to 2024, which indicated N1,366 billion in 2024.

Also, the Council stated that the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was N1,559.5 billion, 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2013, rose by 1.9 per cent in 2014, and it’s expected to rise by 6.1 per cent per annum to N2,886.2 billion, 3.4 per cent of GDP in 2024.

The council stated that in 2013, travel and tourism directly supported 866,000 jobs, 1.3 per cent of total employment, dropped by 0.8 per cent in 2014 and would rise by 3.3 per cent per annum to 1,194,000 jobs, 1.4 per cent of total employment in 2024.

In 2013, the total contribution of travel and tourism to employment including jobs directly supported by the industry, was 2.8 per cent of total employment, which was 1,837,000 jobs, fell by 1.4 per cent in 2014 to 1,811,000 jobs and expected to rise by 3.6 per cent per annum to 2,592,000 jobs in 2024, which represented 3 per cent of total employment.

The council added that within the period, visitor exports generated N107.1 billion, which was 0.6 per cent of total exports in 2013, slid by 0.9 per cent in 2014, and would grow by 3.5 per cent per annum, from 2014 to 2024, to NGN149.7 billion in 2024, representing 0.6 per cent of total visitor exports.

On investment, the sector in 2013 was N264.2bn, or 4.8 per cent of total investment, surged by 1 per cent in 2014, and estimated to rise by 5.1 percent per annum over the next 10 years.