Peter Obi lists what Nigeria needs to become a global tourism destination

The 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Peter Obi has said that Nigeria has all it takes to become a global destination for tourism.

Obi’s remark comes shortly after he served as a guest Speaker at the 2025 Domestic Tourism Conference in Enugu State on Friday.

In a post made on social media, the former governor of Anambra State said he strongly believes that Nigeria is one of the world’s greatest untapped locations for foreign exchange revenue generation.

According to Obi, there is a need to secure the nation and provide the needed leadership committment to investment in tourism.

At the event, Obi said he cited how Turkey 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.

“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,” Obi said.

He further stated that the Nigerian president and leaders ought to be taking their holidays and vacations across notable states of the country.

“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.

“Nigeria is beautiful and our leaders must start showcasing Nigeria’s beauty to the world,” Obi added.

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