The depreciation of the Nigerian naira against major world currencies like the US dollar is forcing many Nigerians to cancel planned summer vacations abroad or choose destinations closer to home. The high exchange rate is significantly increasing the costs of international travel for Nigerian families. As a result, many are now looking at more affordable domestic tourism options within Nigeria and choosing to spend their holidays developing the local tourism economy rather than taking currency overseas. For families, well-known Nigerian resorts like Inagbe Grand Resorts offer high quality holidays at a fraction of the cost of international travel thanks to the naira's depreciation. However, more investment is still needed from the government and private sector to develop Nigeria's

1. SUMMER IN NIGERIA
Some days i justwonder what is the real reason Dubai has become the new
Destination hub for Nigerian's now. With the continued depreciation of the naira
against major world currencies, particularly the US dollar, most outbound
summer holiday seekers in Nigeria are being forced to consider
Alternatives, including outright cancellation of this year’s vacation abroad.
The official exchange rate is N196 while the black market rate is N241. This N45
margin between both rates, along with the 19 percent drop in the value of the
naira againstthe dollar this year, on accountof the slide in crude prices, is
bloating the costof foreign holiday travel for Nigerians.
Lekki Bridge
Many would-be summer holiday travellers are being forced to limit their travel to
the African continent, or even to destinations within Nigeria, often abandoned for
their lack of facilities, security and engaging activities.
Major Destination hosts arenow feeling the pinch of the Dollar amongstother
factors like the Terrorismincident in SousseTunisia, Greece with her financial
crisis and the list goes on and on. The implication is that someoverseas hotels,

2. especially in the US, are now disposing rooms earlier booked by Nigerian holiday
seekers, as the holding period expires.
The investigation also revealed that with the increasing exchange rate, an average
holiday outing for two persons for a weekend abroad (though depending on the
airline, destination, and type of hotel) would cost between N1 million and N1.5
million, while a family of four would spend an average of N3 million. And yet with
such an amount to cough out justfor a week vacation doesn't make any sense.
With N500k, a family of 6 can get 4 days of the best holiday at InagbeGrand
Resorts and Leisure.
Floating Restaurant at Inagbe Resort Quad Bike Rideat Inagbe Resort
This reality has broughtlot of would-betravelers to postponetheir holidays due
to these and other factors, so many families are now looking forward to a very
economical holiday here in Nigeria. If only Nigerians would patronizeand help
boostour own Destinations instead of taking our forex overseas to help develop a
more stable economy. Itwas shocking to read recently, Emirates Airlines, which
operates more than 14 weekly flights to and fromNigeria, has realized N24 billion
(about $122m) fromticketsales in the country in 2014.
Itis time to develop world-class destinations in Nigeria, investin hospitality
infrastructure, quality offerings and manpower, to woo Nigerians back to the

3. country, rather than moving the little money in the country out to serviceand
sustain the hospitality industry abroad, wehave fantastic Resorts and Tourist
destinations here if only the Governmentand the privatesectors can investmore
in our Tourism. Whatwe see in Dubaiand pay for is achievable here in Nigeria
and i can tell you this for free.
Obudu Mountain Ranch Eko Tourist Beach Resort.Akodo
A lot has to be done also on the partof the owners of these Resorts and
destinations, more in terms of advertisement should be done to create awareness
and digital marketing. Most Nigerians don’t even know someof these facilities
exist in the first place, mostof the times when i tell a client about some of this
destination, they find it hard to believe it is closer to home than they did expect.

4. Inagbe Grand Resorts and Leisure Beach Ikogosi Warm spring
Some of the African countries withoutoil dependency and their economy have
survived over the years on Agricultureand Tourism. The major role of the
Governmentin making our Tourismsector thrive is by providing security, power
supply and good infrastructures. Letus help Tourismby spending more of our
holidays here than flying out to Dubai.
Michael Balogun
CEO: XTRM TOURS 2 NIGERIA