Hot SourceChinedu Eze
There are strong indications that the challenge in Visa processing is stifling tourism growth in Nigeria, causing the nation to gradually lose billions of dollars that would have been earned if it has liberal visa process and comes as affordable as that of other countries in Africa, THISDAY investigation has revealed.
Tourism has been described by travel experts as low hanging fruits because a country does not need to invest hugely before it begins to earn from tourism.
In Nigeria, stringent visa processing is discouraging international businessmen who may want to come to the country to invest.
THISDAY investigation revealed that the cost of a work visa in Nigeria is reportedly among the highest in Africa, with a fee of $2,000 annually for foreign employees. This fee is significantly higher than those in countries like South Africa ($777), Ghana ($1,000), and Rwanda (around $124 for a two-year permit). Like Nigeria, Ethiopia charge more for multi-year permits, but the high cost of work visas is cited as a major deterrent to foreign investment in Nigeria.
Reports indicate that tourism has the potential to bring billions of dollars to Nigeria’s economy, with some estimates suggesting the sector can reach $5 billion in five years and contribute nearly N12.3 trillion to GDP by 2032.
Experts who spoke to THISDAY said that while the federal government is seemingly promoting tourism and shows off improvement it has made so far, its agencies are however, constituting obstacles to easy access to Nigeria by tourists and investors.
The Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings Limited and former President of National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bankole Bernard, told THISDAY in a telephone interview on Wednesday that if Nigeria actually wished to develop its tourism industry, it needed to be tourism ready, emphasising that whenever Nigeria gets ready to earn huge money from tourism, the signs will show in all ramifications.
Bernard who is the current President of Association of African Aviation Training Organisations, Nigeria (AATON), also cited example with Saudi Arabia, saying that despite the fact that the country records about 13 million tourists every year, including those who visit the country on pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia plans to attract $80 billion in private investment to supplement state funding for tourism development with the target to grow more than twice the number of tourists that visit the country annually.
“Why are we undermining tourism? A lot of Nigerians in the Diaspora want to come to Nigeria with their friends, but they face Visa barriers. If the come they will spend money in Nigeria which will help to boost our economy. Why do we speak from both sides of our mouth? We say we want to grow tourism but at the same time we put obstacles though stringent Visa rules to discourage people from visiting.
“We need to relax our Visa rules, reduce bottlenecks. I don’t understand these barriers. The moment people find out that there are barriers, they quickly choose another country to travel to. Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda have removed such barriers in their Visa process and they are recording increased influx of tourists. Do you know that Ghana’s Cedi is rising against the US dollar? So, this is not about big or small country; it is about planning and being intentional,” Bernard said.
Reports indicate that Visa policies act as a significant obstacle to tourism and trade in Nigeria by creating hurdles for potential visitors and business partners, deterring investment, and hindering economic growth.
Many foreigners who travelled to Nigeria have narrated their experiences. Although tourists love Nigeria and enjoy it whenever they are able to obtain Visa to visit, some of them have bitter experience about the Visa process and many usually express shock about the high cost of Visa. The rigid process has had impact on business relationships that require face-to-face meetings, and this has led to potential loss of trade and investment opportunities as people choose easier destinations.
Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, was however sanguine about the situation and brought to the fore the reality of the situation when he spoke to THISDAY.
Uko said that there had been some improvement in the online Visa process but with little hiccups because the process is still new. However, he noted that there were more things Nigeria could do in order to enhance more people to travel to Nigeria and also for Nigerians to travel hassle free to other countries.
The travel expert disclosed that recently a group of citizens came from the Caribbean nations, which include Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and others to Calabar, the Cross River State capital. They were supposed to come from 18 nations to Calabar to identify with their roots. About 400 citizens were supposed to attend the event but due to Visa issues, 100 people attended and 90 came from the Caribbean.
“There were two challenges they faced. Those who came from Visa free nations had issues because they could not go online to secure entry approval because there is no package for that in the Immigration portal. To ease the situation, the Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, contacted the Comptroller General of Immigration who gave directive to those visitors and others to be allowed to come in,” Uko said.
Uko also disclosed that even when he organised the Akwaaba and Chinet AviaCargo conference last month in Lagos, many who applied for Nigerian Visa received it but there were occasions of hiccups, when the Nigeria Immigration Portal broke down. He said that one of the setbacks was that many Nigerian embassies do not have visa stickers; so, when those who wished to come to Nigeria, go to Nigerian embassies in their countries, they would be told there were no visa stickers.
“So, in the situation where the embassies do not have stickers, the Nigeria Immigration portal should be robust enough to handle many applications without breaking down or slowing down. The platform is working because people who applied for visa recently quickly got their visa,” he said.
Uko also made other observations and recommendations, saying that Nigeria as a nation should negotiate for countries that will adopt Visa free policy for Nigerians, just as Nigeria is extending free Visa entry to some countries. He cited examples with Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda and observed that because these countries have Visa free policies for many countries, especially in Africa, they could negotiate other countries to reciprocate their Visa free policy and this has made it possible for Kenyans, Ghanaians to travel to many countries.
The travel expert noted that while South Africa has its companies in many African countries, Nigerian companies do not have that spread, but what Nigeria has, which other countries in Africa do not have, are highly entrepreneurial people. So, with visa free policy extended to Nigeria, Nigerians with their business skills will travel and do business in many countries.
“But there is a caveat, because some Nigerians have the proclivity to exhibit anarchic behaviour when they are in overseas. Nigerian government must adopt a punitive policy, so that any Nigerian who travels overseas and misbehaves must be punished by the state. I think China has such a policy. There are Chinese citizens all over the world but anyone that misbehaves is held to account. Nigeria must have such policy, but it should not be limited to just government, even Nigerians should report such misbehaviour when they see it so that appropriate action will be taken against those who erred,” Uko said.
Nigeria, specifically Lagos, announced in January 2025 that it earned over $71.6 million from the 2024 ‘Detty December’ festivities across tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors. It disclosed that the largest contributions came from hotels, which generated around $44 million, and short-let apartments, which brought in an estimated $13 million.
It is projected that the earning will double this year because the businesses in Lagos are prepared to receive more visitors and many Nigerians that participated in the festival last year, want to bring their non-Nigerian friends and travel to other parts of the country considered safe.
