2018 is here. It is important to take stock of tourism last year and then have an idea of the expectations from the industry this year.

The ultimate aim of industry practitioners is for the country to get to a level where its tourism assets would be developed to the level of attracting both local and inbound tourists to a reasonable degree that tourism numbers will significantly have effect on the country's GDP.

The success and failure of the industry are predicated on the activities of both the private and public sectors. At the level of public sector, policies and the provision of infrastructural facilities to help the industry thrive is the key.

Taking that into consideration, it is difficult to say that the country's industry performed very well last year. There were no serious "icy shuts by the government to push the sector forward in 2017. All the major issues that have been highlighted as being important to move the sector forward were not advanced beyond the state they were at the beginning of last year.

The roadmap for tourism development in the country, the National Tourism Master-plan, did not move beyond the point it was in 2016. Tourism policies and their implementation are still at the whims of the director-general to formulate and execute based on their understanding.

At the beginning of last year, the apex tourism body for the country, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), was running without a substantive director general. Two senior workers of the corporation were claiming seniority and, as such, the right to act as acting director-general. First was Mr. Boniface Eboka to whom the agency was handed over to at the expiration of the tenure of the former DG, Mrs. Sally Mbanefo. Then, on January 22, the supervising ministry, the Ministry of Information and Culture, instructed Mrs. Mariel Rae-Omo to take over as the acting director-general by virtue of being the most senior. Less than two months later, on March 15, another acting director-general, Dr. Paul Adalikwu, came on board. Three DGs in three months in the parastatal. The federal government corrected this anomaly by appointed Mr.Folarin Coker as the substantive DG on April 7 last year.

Folarin Coker in July last year unfolded his tourism roadmap using Tour Nigeria as the signature project to get locals to buy into tourism by Nigeria. Folarin said he was going to concentrate more to promote domestic tourism. Part of the incentive was to create tour packages that would help the Nigerians visit tour sites.

Although many practitioners see this initiative as laudable, they however believe that the policy should have been better framed with inputs from the private sector. The NTDC, they believe, should enlist the private sector to run with the vision rather the NTDC trying to implement it. Many hope this will come to fruition in 2018.

The tourism development fund, which most countries create to get dedicated funds for the development and marketing their tourism, is still in doldrums in Nigeria.

A few years ago, the government showed its desire to provide visas on arrival for tourists and visitors to Nigeria. There is no clear-cut pronouncement on the implementation. This is among the key issues for tourism in 2018.

For Nigerians seeking to travel out of the country, procuring international passports are still expensive and the process is cumbersome. All these are disincentives to tourism in the country.

2017 also saw points of disagreement between the public and private sectors as the private sector umbrella body for tourism industry practitioners, the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), kicked against the bill before the National Assembly for the amendment of the laws setting up the Nigerian Institute of Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) and the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). The FTAN said there was not adequate consultation with the private sector before the bill was presented.

At the private sector level, for most tourism establishments, especially the hospitality sector, it was cautious optimism. Unlike the years in which they had to battle with Ebola and inflation, 2017 was devoid of such. The Occupancy rate of most branded hotels in the country was average, managing to survive with serious improvement.

Just to underscore the rather cautious disposition in the sector, there was little or no activities from the major international branded hospitality outfits in the country. Most were more concerned about managing their properties out of the post-recession era.

However, Nigeria's biggest tourist attraction, Pastor T.B.Joshua, and the Synagogue Church of All Nations, continued to enjoy huge numbers in terms of inbound tourism arrivals. One advantage that Ikotun has in terms of tourism arrival is that it is not a seasonal destination. It enjoyed an all-year-round influx of religious tourists. High profile visitors, like George Opong Weah, the President-Elect of Liberia, were among thousands who visited the church last year.

2017 was supposed to be the year Nigeria's much touted visas on arrival was to take off. Despite all the noise, the policy is yet to be implemented.

In 2017, the 12-year-old Abuja Carnival was finally laid to rest as it was cancelled by the Federal Government. The carnival which was first held in 2005 to showcase all that is good in Nigerian culture gradually lost steam and deviated from the vision for which it was set up. The crowd disappeared and the initial excitement the festival brought fizzled. It became just an annual routine until it was finally laid to rest.

The private umbrella body for tourism industry, the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), elected a new set of executives led by Alhaji Saleh Kareem Rabo.

One of the biggest positive things of the year came in December 16 when Ethiopian Airlines made history in Nigeria by putting together an all-female crew, led by Captain Amsale Gualu, to fly a Boeing 777-300ER from Bole International Airport to Lagos, Nigeria. It was the first all-female air crew flight in Nigeria.

Captain Gualu talked on the historic flight to Nigeria: "Actually, this is not my first international flight; this is my first African all-women operated flight and I am very privileged to be part of this historical flight. I am very proud to be part of this flight." She was quick to dismiss the slight turbulence experience around the Cameroonian airspace. On whether she was apprehensive, she said: "Not at all, that is our day to day experience."

She also talked about how she became a pilot: "This is my childhood dream to fly. Since I was a child, I always wanted to fly. I wanted to be pilot. I guess I developed my passion for flying from when I was young. Then, my father used to take my sister and I to the airport to see airplanes take off and land. When I was in high school or so, I used to be impressed by pilots' uniform, I guess that is when my passion for flying developed. And after graduating from the university in Addis Ababa, I joined Ethiopian Airlines as a First Officer, then I went all the way, I flew Fokker 50 and Boeing 767, then I became a captain in 2010 on Dash 50-400. Then as a captain I flew Boeing 767, and then triple seven, plus the latest aircraft."

On the significance of the flight, she said: "I believe Africa is the future, so we need 50 percent of the society involved and we need the female touch. As men and women, we have our differences, but regardless of that, anything is possible. Being a woman should never stop us from doing what we want to do."

At the international level, 2017 saw Africa lose a golden opportunity to produce the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Secretary General. The leading candidate was former Zimbabwe tourism minister, Mr. Walter Mzembi. He got the African Union (AU) endorsement as the official candidate of Africa. He was cruising to a comfortable victory until Seychelles' tourism minister, Mr. Alain St. Ange, decided to throw his hat into the ring. Africa ended up losing the seat to Europe in a keenly contested election.

The general consensus among industry practitioners was that tourism in Nigeria did not do well last year. They are, however, optimistic it will improve in 2018.

Written by Okorie Uguru

SOURCE: The Nation Newspaper, Saturday January 6, Page 30