18th of July 2020 was a remarkable day for me.
It was a day that made me proud to be a Nigerian.
“Why?” You may ask.
So this is what happened, I was present at the finale of a webinar series hosted by the Nigeria Travel Week.
The series was themed: A fresh start for Tourism in Nigeria.
While listening to the power-packed panelist speak, I said to myself, “yes! I am in the right place”
“I chose the right career”.
“There are so much opportunities here and we can make things happen”.
“Nigeria is great”, I said.
An article I wrote last week about Kenya’s tourism, became a conversation starter between my mum and I.
She was surprised that the tourism sector accounts for 63% of Kenya’s GDP.
Kenya invested brain, time and effort to get her tourism sector to the level it is today.
And I believe we can do the same in Nigeria.
Based on the conference I attended, here are a few things I want to debunk about your Nigerian Stereotypes.
12 things you should know about Travel in Nigeria
1. Nigerians are not cyber criminals.
A study carried out by the Centre of Strategic & International Studies shows that the majority of cyber crimes originate from China, Russia and the USA, so the Nigerian stereotype is not statistically founded.
2. Nigeria has over 50 waterfalls.
Over 40% of these waterfalls are present in the Northern part of Nigeria.
3. The 1st trampoline Park in West Africa is present in Nigeria.
This park is named Upbeat centre.
4. Located in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria is the Largest golf course in West Africa.
The golf course can be accessed through the Ibom Golf Hotel & Resort.
Click here to read a full article review on the hotel.
5. Nigeria has the longest canopy walk in Africa!
6. Nigeria has over 3 National and State parks (game reserves) with several wild animals present.
Animals like Lions, Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants and more!
A post shared by Adedotun Ajibade (@adedotunajibade) on Jun 4, 2020 at 12:39pm PDT
7. Nigeria is home to the most equatorial and floral species.
Examples are; the Jos Plateau Indigo bird, Niger Delta Red Colobus, the Cross-River Gorilla.
8. Nigeria is home to the largest concentration of drill monkeys (AKA- mandrillus leucophaeus).
9. Nigeria has over 521 unique languages, including Pidgin.
10. The world’s oldest continuous market (Kurmi Market) is present in Kano State, Nigeria.
11. Present in Nigeria is one of two suspended lakes in the WORLD!
Click here to read more about the lake.
12. Nigeria has 2 UNESCO accredited site – these are the Osun Osogbo Groove, and the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa State.
14 more sites are on the tentative list of UNESCO accredited site.
For more interesting FACTS about Nigeria, click here or the picture below to watch a 5 minutes montage to find out Nigeria’s tourism assets.
You will be mind blown.
The truth is, this article was clearly inspired by the webinar I attended on the 18th of this month.
And this is why I will forever love attending training, conferences and anything that provides me the ability to grow.
If you wish to catch up on the finale of the Nigeria Travel webinar series, feel free to watch the video below.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, I started writing this article with the mindset of sharing with you 5 facts about Nigeria, it turned out that I could not stop at 5.
Keep in mind that I definitely did not cover everything there is to know about Nigeria, what do you say I do a part 2?
Please share the article with friends and follow me on Twitter and Instagram – @TheFisayo.
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