Tourism Master Plan for Ekiti State, Nigeria

• Africa
• 16 Aug 24
• 24 Aug 24

In Partnership With:

Ministry of Tourism of Nigeria
Ekiti State Bureau for Tourism Development

Context: 

Via the Ministry of Tourism of Nigeria, UN Tourism received a request from the Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development to provide technical assistance for the development of a Tourism Master Plan for Ekiti State. In consultation with the Ministry and the Ekiti State Bureau, it was agreed to field a mission of an official of UN Tourism’s Technical Cooperation and Silk Road department to prepare a detailed proposal for the development of the Master Plan. During the mission, site inspection visits were made to main tourist attractions and facilities in Ekiti State, meetings were held with key tourism stakeholders in Ekiti, visits were paid to the Governor of Ekiti State as well as to traditional leaders, including local Kings, of villages and towns near tourist attractions to exchange information and raise awareness on the potential for tourism development.

The essence of the Tourism Master Plan for Ekiti State would be to provide greater direction for tourism planning in Ekiti State in the fields of product planning, diversification and management, marketing and investment promotion, and human resources development and quality. It is proposed to develop the Master Plan through a wide range of interventions, including the assessment of tourism products from an international standard perspective; the identification of more niche and higher end markets to target; co-ordination with a wider range of stakeholders in terms of investment and management; the broader planning of tourism development in the State through thematic tourism circuits, using the wide range of natural and cultural attractions in Ekiti as a catalyst for new added value tourism products, and a review of human resources and quality aspects for key sub-sectors, including cultural tourism, nature and eco-tourism, and MICE tourism.

Highlights: 

The site inspection visits and consultations with tourism stakeholders in Ekiti served to obtain detailed insights in the current level of tourism development in Ekiti State and the opportunities and challenges to be addressed through the Master Plan. The draft proposal for the Master Plan project was presented to the management of the Ekiti State Bureau for Tourism Development and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism of Nigeria, and based on the feedback received, the proposal will be completed and further arrangements will be made to launch the project. On numerous occasions during the mission, the UN Tourism Official was interviewed by local and national media, resulting in several news items in social media, newspapers and on TV. At the last evening of the mission in Ekiti, a visit was paid to the Udiroko Festival, where ten thousands of local people gather to pay tribute to the King of Ado-Ekiti, the most important monarch in the State.

Stay Tuned:

Based on the project proposal prepared during the mission, further arrangements will be made to formalize the collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism of Nigeria and the Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development for the development of the Tourism Master Plan for Ekiti State. It is expected that the project will be launched in the first semester of 2025, with a mission by UN Tourism officials to attend the project inception meeting in Ekiti and to kick off the field work, followed by another mission of UN Tourism officials towards the end of the project for a validation meeting and an awareness raising seminar on the Master Plan.

As part of the project, possibilities are explored to organize a study tour to the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, a destination with similar tourist attractions and features as Iketi State and where tourism has been successfully developed over the past three decades. The study tour would serve to familiarize officials from the Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development and the Ministry of Tourism with the experiences gained and successes achieved in the Usambara Mountains, which will provide inspiration and ideas to support tourism planning and development in Ekiti.

Related links:

• UN Tourism delegation explores amazing Ekiti tourist attractions
• I've been to 55 countries, Nigeria is different - UN Tourism official
• UN Tourism official hails Ekiti’s warm welcome, tourism potential

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