Volume 18, No. 6, 2021
The Intermarriage Between Art And Tourism: A Case Study Of Art And Tourism Development In Nigeria
Oloidi, Oluwafemi. T.
Abstract
Nigeria could be referred to as the ovary of Africa, because of its large population and numerous natural resources. With its high number of population, which is over 180 million, this has made Nigeria the most indigenous and most densely populated country in Africa and also the “seventh most populous country in the world.”1 The two main common religions practiced in Nigeria is Christianity, which is widely practiced by the Southerners and Westerners, while Islam is been deferentially practiced by the Northerners and few Westerners. They are popularly known as Muslims, while the other religious group is known as Christians. This has created different tastes of religion, culture, ideology, philosophy and the aesthetic feeling for tourism, technology and structural beauty. In Nigeria, today, it is quite disturbing that the government has decided to rely more on oil and gas and pay less attention to tourism or the creation of more sophisticated tourist attraction sites that would help to boost not only the economy but also become the main tourist ground for wealthy tourists who would invest in the country and create a lasting cordial relationship that would last for decades. For example, countries like United States, China, Italy, Thailand, Dubai, among others, have reaped immensely from tourism and have continued to pump more revenue into art and tourism, creating more elegantly massive structures for art galleries, museums and tourist gardens which normally end up being the heart of beauty for tourists who visit their countries. A country that doesn’t believe in art and tourism would have a slow growth in both their economy and technology, and the arrival of prosperity would be delayed or even eliminated. Many artists, engineers, agriculturists, physicists and scientists would leave the country to develop other countries that are ready to fully embrace art and tourism. It is therefore essential to know that art and tourism are deeply connected and can’t be separated or ignored, because they create not only beauty and hope, but also heavily enrich the economy, citizens, as well as the tourists. As regards to this, I would say that the Nigerian government have not given full attention to the promotion of art and tourism, that is why the country is facing a lot of challenges in the areas of arts, tourism and culture, which needs solid attention for the betterment of the country. The Nigerian government should have an affectionate union with artists, archeologists, engineers and scientists in order to device systematic and professional ways of working together to refine, upgrade and create unbelievable tourist attraction sites and structures that would serve as a magnetic field to attract visitors who would help to enrich, empower and promote the areas of Nigerian art and tourism. It is therefore extremely important to acknowledge the integral role that art and tourism have played in the development and beautification of Nigeria.
Pages: 6166-6175
Keywords: Nigeria, Art, Culture, Tourism, Leadership.