Tourism Development And Economic Growth Nexus: Nigeria’s Experience (Published)
Nigeria has over 7000 tourist centres and with the concerted efforts of government, tourism is becoming an essential part of the country’s economy. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in 2014 also envisaged a growth of 6 percent per annum for period of ten years for the Nigerian tourism industry. In view of this, the study focusses on empirical investigation of the contribution of the rapidly developing tourism sector to economic growth in Nigeria. The popular time series data for the period spanning from 1995 to 2013 was analyzed with econometric view statistical package. The findings reveal a unilateral causality and positive long-run between tourism development and economic growth. The tourism-led growth is also thus confirmed for Nigeria. The study recommends adequate security, increase investment in infrastructure and tourist centres to boost tourism activities in the country.
Keywords: E-View, Tourism Development, WTTC, economic growth