Nation Branding and Tourism Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The Nigerian image crisis is a colossal problem that has caught the attention of successive Nigerian governments since independence. Since the country's return to democratic rule in 1999, various nation-branding campaigns have been initiated by the Nigerian administration to redress the situation. Some of these campaigns include the “Nigerian Image Project,” the “Heart of Africa Project,” the “Rebranding Nigeria” campaign, the “Nigeria: Our Heritage Project,” and the “Fascinating Nigeria” concept, which, despite their enormous budgets and activities, have yielded only patchy fruits, leaving the country's image crisis to persist and warrant more efficacious solutions. This chapter reviews some of these nation branding initiatives examining the extent to which they have included tourism branding and development. The chapter specifically seeks answers to the following research questions: How does nation branding affect tourism? To what extent have nation branding campaigns tackled the Nigerian image crisis? and To what extent have these campaigns given attention to tourism development in Nigeria?