Indications have emerged that the ease on lockdown announced by the government on the hospitality sector may not make any meaningful impact on local tourism as road infrastructure across the country continues to deteriorate.
Stakeholders in the sector feared that roads within and interstate may hinder movements within the country as travellers go through the harrowing experience to arrive at their destinations.
Michael Balogun of Tour2naija Limited, in a chat, said effective movement around and within Nigeria is dependent on roads leading to different destinations for leisure or business travels.
“The issue of domestic travels now hangs on road infrastructures within the states. Take a look at the roads leading to Badagry for one, how long does a tourist living on the Lagos Island have to commute from that point to Badagry with the bad roads.Then the only option left is by using the waterways.
“The same fate is suffered by interstate travellers; the purpose of travel for a tourist is experience. But we need to understand the difference between a nasty and memorable experience in this case. You have to put the issue of safety into consideration when you think of the interstate travel due to the poor conditions of these roads,”
Balogun said the present economic crunch in the country and globally caused by global pandemic (COVID-19) has crippled the country’s economy such that many that had flair for out-of-home leisure may find it difficult to adequately plan and make travel arrangement due to paucity of funds.
“The economy is also a condition to take into consideration as the fear of the future has kept many from even toying with the idea of travel for now.
“The pandemic is still active and from the pulse of some of our clients, many are still fearful of travelling while some are holding on to the little resources they have in the advent of another lockdown as the numbers keep increasing daily.
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“Hopefully before December, we might start seeing a few activities in the local travel industry. For now, as a tour packaging company, we are focused and leaning more on technology, for now, to keep promoting domestic tourism in Nigeria,” he added.
A travel enthusiast, Muhideen Subair considers the poor state of roads across the length and breadth of the country as blessings in disguise.
According to him, many that could have travel and perish due to bad road infrastructure and menace of reckless drivers of worn-out and poorly serviced articulated vehicles are still living.
“Come on, you don’t expect me to put my family on the road to the slave trade monuments in Badagry or travel to Ekiti State where the roads have dangerous bent with ditches on both sides of the road.
“If the government is serious about boosting local travel and resuscitate local tourism post-COVID-19, they must wake up to the challenge posed by poor road maintenance that had been the bane of successive governments in the country,” he said.
In the same vein, Oluomo Jamiu Talabi, Secretary, Lagos Hoteliers Association and ex-officio member of Hotel Owners and Managers Of Lagos said there is no gainsaying that the sector is yet to return to normal.
According to him, the fear of COVID-19 pandemic and road safety had kept many business travellers to stay back because of the economy and poor state of the roads.
“Imagine travelling from Ibadan to Ogere under 45 minutes and spending over five hours to drive into Lagos. It is not reasonable,” he added.
