Towards Digital-Driven Tourism For National Development In Nigeria: Lessons From Dubai Experience

Abstract

Tourist industry is one of the most important drivers of sustainable national development, employment creation, and global economic activity in several ways, both direct and indirect. It is one of the world's fastest-growing sectors. It includes areas like the physical attractions such as falls and rocks, as well as wildlife-based attractions which including sports, parks, and fishing grounds, as well as cultural attractions likefestivals, arts and crafts; local, regional, and international sports; and business tourism, such as workshops, conferences, and meetings.However, the numerous tourism opportunities in Nigeria are not effectively tapped or remain underutilized.Hence, the paper investigates why tourism activities in Nigeria are not as active as obtained in other clime like Dubai. The paper draws data from primary and secondary sources, which includes the authors’ close observation of events in the tourism operations in Nigeria and information obtained from textbooks, journals, newspapers, etc. After analysis of the data, it was found that tourism is critical to national development because it improves job prospects, eliminates societal hurdles, enhances the emergence of cultural revival, increases health therapy, augments balance of payments, and so on.However,the paper foundthat the slow progress in tourism sector in Nigeriais not unconnected with lack of aggressive measures to integrate ICT in her tourism sector.The tourism industry in Nigeria has been hampered by lack of support, investment, and political will to integrate ICT in tourism sector. As a result, this paper suggests, inter alia, that Nigerian governments pursue economic diversification via tourism,instead of relying largely on crude oil.The government should invest more in tourism ICT related infrastructures so as to establish a competitive travel and tourism industry.Nigeria can achieve this by seeking out investors and stakeholders withtechnological innovative ideas as obtainable in Dubai to be deployed to aid the development of tourism in the country.