By John Solomon, Enugu
The 2023 Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has said that tourism is one of the Nigeria’s greatest untapped potentials.
Obi, who spoke at the 2025 Domestic Tourism Conference in Enugu State, said tourism, if properly harnessed, will generate sustainable revenue for the nation.
He said: “I strongly believe that tourism is one of Nigeria’s greatest untapped potentials to generate and earn sustainable foreign exchange revenue.
“All we need to do is secure our country and provide the right leadership commitment to tourism investment.
“In my speech, I gave an example of Turkey, how the country earned over $61 billion from tourism alone in 2024. To put that into perspective, that is more than Nigeria’s entire foreign exchange earnings from several of our sources combined.”
Obi added that: “In the same year, over 62 million people visited Turkey, creating millions of jobs and supporting countless SMEs. By contrast, Nigeria cannot even boast of 10% of that number in tourist arrivals.
“Imagine if we were able to attract even a third of Turkey’s tourism numbers, that could mean over $20 billion in revenue for Nigeria from Tourism alone, alongside massive job creation for our people.
“Again, like I have consistently mentioned, it is time for our leaders, especially the President, to begin setting the example by taking their holidays in Nigeria.
“Nothing is stopping our own President from hosting holidays in places like Zamfara, Cross River, Kebbi, Yobe or Plateau. Nigeria has what it takes to be a global tourism destination. What we lack is vision, leadership, and commitment.”
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