TOURISM INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN DELTA STATE: A PAPER DELIVERED BY SHEDDY AGBAGBARA AT ASABA ON WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH. 2005 DURING THE 1st DELTA STATE TOURISM EXPOSITION (22 TO 24 MARCH. 2005)

INTRODUCTION

In order to go straight to the heart of this presentation, we shall make bold to assume that we share a common understanding of the key words and concepts in the title of our topic; that we agree on the meaning of tourism and of what constitutes the different components of the industry; and that developing and promoting the tourism potentials of Delta State will confer social, economic and environmental benefits on the government and people of the state.

Thereafter, we shall attempt an overview of the tourism potentials of the state, examine its institutional framework for tourism development and discuss the various investment opportunities available in the components of the industry in the state. The paper will conclude with some suggestions. This approach has been adopted because our objective is to identify what investors can put their money into and how to assist them in achieving good returns on investment.

THE TOURISM ENVIRONMENT OF DELTA STATE
2. At the 3rd Joint National Board Meeting of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation held at Abuja in July, 1997, the country was divided into zones for the purpose of tourism development. It was agreed that each zone should concentrate on a selected area of tourism, an area where it was considered to have comparative advantage. Accordingly, it was resolved that Delta State should concentrate on cultural and river tourism. The decision was based on some well-known facts about our state.

3. In the first place, the cultural wealth and diversity of Delta State is almost proverbial, what with the real, imagined and orchestrated cultural differences within and between Delta South, Central and North. It was thought that, through tourism, this diversity, which many see as a threat, could be turned to good advantage. This is because our cultural diversity has enriched our cultural manifestations such as shrines, folklore, myths, body adornment, traditional music, dances, festivals, monuments and
historic sites. As for river tourism, the very name of the state underscores its significance for us.

It is core to the Niger Delta which covers well over 70 sq km and from which it derives its enchanting name. The state is bound on all but one side by water. Within its boundaries are scores of rivers, creeks and lakes. One watercourse that seems to run through it like a unifying ribbon is the River Ethiope. It rises at Umuaja in Ukwuani Local Government Area, flows through six other local government areas and enters the sea after a journey of some 176 kilometres.

At Sapele, it is deep enough to accommodate ocean-going vessels, thereby justifying its billing as Africa's deepest inland water-way - although it is now largely silted over. The Niger estuary, Atlantic seaboard and internal water masses all combine to make the state a biodiversity paradise.

It is home to those myriad species that thrive wherever there is water and boasts of the red mangrove forests of Delta South. In addition, the presence of so much water makes it ideal for water related tourism activities such as water sports, boat cruises and regatta. Gratifyingly, construction of the Ase, Bomadi and Omadino bridges will afford tourists easy assess the riverine areas and make investments in tourism assets in such areas profitable.

4. Furthermore, these same waterways made the state important in the activities of early European traders and missionaries. This aspect of our colonial past has bequeathed to us some significant historical sites and monuments, such as Nana Palace, Koko.

5. Even the petroleum industry has potential for tourism, not minding the havoc it is wreaking on the environment and the consequent threat it poses to ecotourism. From it can be created our own version of smoke stack tourism. Besides, the industry, in spite of the devastation it is causing to our environment, is capable of hastening the emergence of that demographic group which forms the core of tourism markets - namely young educated individuals with disposable income engaged in
manufacturing and service sectors of the economy. Thus, ironically, the petroleum producing areas of Delta North, Delta Central and Delta South could become the source of much domestic tourism. Due cognisance also has to be taken of the fact that oil producing axis of the state also spreads into nearby Bayelsa Rivers States.

6. On its part, Asaba, being the capital of the state, offers special opportunities for investment in hospitality establishments, conference centres as well as sporting and entertainment facilities. Its proximity to Onitsha reputed to be one of West Africa's most important commercial centres is another positive factor.

(This section is deeply indebted to Hotel and Tourism Development Potentials in Delta State, being a paper presented by Goodie Ibru Esq. Chairman, Ikeja Hotel Plc and National President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) at a retreat to mark the 2nd Anniversary of the Administration of James Onanefe Ibori, Executive Governor of Delta State at the Conference Hall, Hotel Excel, Refinery Road, Effurun on Saturday, 2nd June, 2001. It: is available on www.deltastate.ciov.nci/retreat - which the Delta State Government website.)

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN DELTA STATE

7. Despite the rosy picture of tourism potentials of Delta State painted so far, it should be remembered that potential is like gold in the ground. It is not profitable until it has been dug up and refined. Fortunately, the state government has started the process of actualising our tourism potential by establishing a suitable relevant institutional framework.

This framework is based on the provisions of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Act and those of the enabling law of Delta State Tourism Board. Both legislations recognise and assign specific responsibilities to the four key actors in the tourism industry namely, the supervisory ministry, the state tourism board, local government tourism committees and the private sector.

(It can be said that the first three named constitute our regional tourism organisations.) The responsibilities of the different parts of the institutional framework are as follows:

i. Ministry of Culture and Tourism: to supervise Delta State Tourism Board, formulate tourism policy, develop tourism infrastructure and regulate the industry.

ii. Delta State Tourism Board: to promote the state as the preferred tourism destination, manage, market its tourism assets, manage and maintain government-owned tourism facilities, liase with professional related professional bodies and associations as well as train requisite manpower;

iii. Local Government Tourism Committees: to promote their areas of jurisdiction as tourist destinations, encourage and promote local tourism, develop and manage their tourist attractions and, as essentially the landlords of all tourist attractions, generally support other stakeholders in the industry;

iv. Private Sector: to act as the engine of tourism investment in the state (by developing and managing tourism assets), organise themselves into trade associations, provide feedback for tourism formulation as well influence the enactment of tourism legislation

8. A novel step in tourism development in the state was the creation of a single ministry for culture and tourism in 2001. This can be said to be one of the best things to happen to culture and tourism in this state. For it has, hopefully, ended the era where promoters of culture did no more than indiscriminately glorify the ways of our fathers instead of creating meaningful linkages between traditional culture and such vital aspects of our life as the educational system, technology, economy, politics,
entertainment and broadcasting.

Culture, seen in this rather narrow and atavistic sense, is irrelevant. Similarly, it has refocused tourism as more than merely a brick-and-mortar business. Culture is a veritable source of tourist sites and events and, as such, it draws tourists to a particular town or region and provides them with entertainment and other delights which give distinct flavour to a destination. By establishing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Government has shown its recognition of the symbiotic relation that exists between culture and tourism.

To achieve the best results, the state ministry, the tourism board and local government councils should continue to function under this arrangement with minimum interactive dissonance and effectively press culture into the service of tourism in our state as they have done so far.

9. The need for the regional tourism organisations to discharge their responsibilities effectively has been emphasised advisedly. This is because their determination and unity of purpose are crucial to the creation of an entrepreneur-friendly tourism investment environment in the state. Investors are in business to recoup their outlays and make a profit.

Their returns can only flow from satisfying the needs of tourists. Therefore the more tourist movement to and within the state our regional tourism bodies can generate the better. Mere preachment does not encourage investors to venture into unwonted fields. Only reasonable assurance of profit does it. In the absence of such profit, it is only rational for them to cut their losses and run » if they venture into the field at all, that is.

TOURISM NEEDS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS

10. What then are the needs of tourists and what and who supplies them? Answers to these question would, no doubt, be of importance and interest to our investors as tourism is not yet fully integrated into our life- style and economic activities.

11. The needs of tourists are closely related to the components of the tourism industry, namely attractions, hospitality services as well as transport and travel trade. Each will be discussed hereunder. For the sake of clarity, tourist needs and what/who supplies them have been set out in the following table:

Tourist Needs and How They are Supplied
S/N TOURIST NEED SUPPLIER

1(a) Attractions (Site (Attractions)-------------------Museums, art galleries, souvenir shops, historic sites and monuments, palaces, birth places of famous people, unique architectural creations, zoological gardens, parks, forest reserves

1(b) Attractions (Event Attractions)--------------------Arts Festivals, Traditional Festivals, Anniversaries, Musical, Drama and
Dance Performances, Sports Competitions and Festivals

1(c) Attractions (Conferences & Conventions)------------Conference Halls, Convention Centres, Lecture Halls and Banquet
Halls

1(d) ATTRACTIONS (Entertainment)------------------Discotheques, Dance Halls, Cinemas, Casinos, Theme Parks

2. Hospitality---------------Hotels, Motels, Restaurants, Bars, Fast Food Establishments, Resorts

3. Transportation (To, Within and Fro the Tourist Destination)-------------Providers of Means of Transport by Air, Rail, road, Sea and Inland Waterways

4. Travel Arrangements-----------------------Travel Agencies

5. Packaging the Tour ------------------------The Tour Operator
(i.e. Helping Tourists
to Choose a
Destination, Taking
Them There, Treating
Them to What the
Destination Has to
Offer & Returning
Them Home

12. Tourist Attractions: Tourist attractions are very important in pulling visitors to one destination rather than another. Indeed, they are a necessary condition for turning a region into a preferred destination. They are, therefore, some of the most vital driving forces behind tourism. Unless they are available, accessible, developed and well-promoted, a destination cannot attract a sufficient number of tourists to make other assets and investments viable. In fact, every tourist destination must have
a kind of attraction for which it is known.

Witness the importance of wildlife to Kenya; international conferences to France (which has been dubbed the conference centre of the world); the story of Jesus Christ to Israel and that of Prophet Mohammed (May the Peace of Allah be Upon Him) to Saudi Arabia; the Everglades to Florida; the story and relics of its ancient civilisation to Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs; sandy beaches to South- east Asia; warm climate to the Mediterranean Coast; and the Olympics and FIFA World Cup to whichever country hosts them.

Remove those attractions and the regions profiting from them would be left high and dry. Fears for personal security do not appear to play an overly important role in deterring would be visitors. At home here we have an example of the pull the artificial beach and conference facilities of Abraka River Resort used to have before it fell on hard times. But that is another story.

13. The variety of tourist attractions necessary for the growth of a viable tourism industry in our state could be achieved in a number of ways. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Delta State Tourism Board, Local Government Tourism Committees, investors, and even communities and cultural enthusiasts could establish independent tourism assets such as
cultural events, sporting facilities, conference centres, galleries, theatres, casinos and beaches. They could also integrate such attractions into the design and/or expansion of existing hotels and resorts to great advantage. This extra touch would become a special selling point.

14. Hospitality Services: Sooner or later every visitor needs hospitality services. There must be food to eat, something to drink and somewhere to sleep. Providing these services are labour intensive, hence a full one- third of all workers in the tourism industry in Great Britain are engaged in hospitality services.

15. The range of investment opportunities available in this field is vast. It will become even more so as the number of travellers increase daily. Unfortunately, not too many hotels are doing well. This calls for caution and reliance on carefully and honestly prepared feasibility studies before embarking upon the construction of new hotels or expansion of old ones. It should be noted that, although Great Britain has over 50,000 hotels, only about 10,000 have over 10 rooms. Put differently, 80% of the hotels
in Great Britain each have 10 or less rooms and are what, by international standards, are classified as small hotels.

16. In the hotel business, like much else in life, size is not everything - unless you are an elephant. Size could actually be a handicap since craving for it could mislead the investor into building an ill-equipped and badly managed hotel with dozens of rooms instead of a small hotel with several attractions. There is evidence that what really interests tourists in a hotel are:

Cleanliness
Security
Facilities that work Prompt, cheerful and honest service
Comfort
Pleasurable Activities
Right Pricing

17. This raises the question of the kinds of hotel we really need in the tourism industry in Delta State. Put briefly, we need simple lodging that can promote domestic tourism side by side with luxury ones. There should be a hotel for everyone who chooses to be a tourist. Some will only to provide the basics, namely a clean room, a table and chair, a wardrobe, a bathroom, a fan or air-conditioner that works and, of course, a good bed with clean beddings.

Others may be built of alternative materials and techniques as is the case at the Delta State Government-owned Songhai Project at Amukpe. Encouraging tourists to live within the community is still another alternative to expensive hotel accommodation. Besides it helps to spread tourism earnings to the grass roots.

This is quite feasible, considering the ever-increasing number of rarely inhabited country homes that now dot the rural areas of this and other states. over and above all these is the opportunity to invest in three, four and five-star hotels to cater for international tourists, top public officials and other high network nationals. There has to be something for every size and depth of pocket if we are to turn tourism into a mass activity.

18. In summary, the investment opportunities resulting from satisfying the hospitality needs of tourists include:

Hotels, Motels and Resorts with leisure and business facilities a Basic lodgings

Boarding houses and youth hostels
University and secondary school hostels during vacations for which the institutions can charge fees
Letting out rooms in partly or rarely used homes
Camps

Restaurants and bars
Fast food establishments

19. Transport and Travel Trade: The tourist's need to travel to, fro and within the destination translates into investment opportunities in transportation and travel trade.

20. Transport: Without means of transport, it would be impossible to travel. Thus there would be no tourism. There are some instances where the means of transport, in fact, become the main attraction. A river cruise is an example. Business opportunities offered by satisfying tourists' transportation needs include: Boat cruises (which are at once tourist attractions and means of
transportation)

Car hire services
Taxi, bus and okada services
Coach services within extensive sites
Ferry service
Air service

21. Travel Trade: On the other hand, travel trade offers opportunities through the operation of travel agencies. These businesses have been variously described as the retailers or shopping windows of the tourism industry. They give information
to tourists and sell holidays. They sell on behalf of the transport or holiday provider and generate their revenue from commissions.

22. The Tour Operator. It is necessary to offer a few comments on the role of the Tour Operator. Abundance of the best tourist attractions, hospitality establishments and means of transport would avail a tourist region nothing if there were no tour operators interested in packaging tours to it.

They are the wholesalers of the industry. For it is they who make block bookings for groups of visitors to tourist attractions, buy hotel rooms in bulk and charter means of transport. Thereafter, these services are sold to tourists directly or through travel agents.

23. A tourist region cannot capture and hold the interest of a sufficient number of tourists unless successful tour operators are interested in selling it to their clients. And a tourist region that cannot do so is doomed to failure. The parlous state of domestic tourism in the country could be attributed, at least in part, to failure of the regional tourist organisations to capture and hold the interest of a sufficient number of tour operators.

As for international tourists, there is ample evidence that our poor showing is partly attributable to inability to interest an adequate number of international tour operators of the northern hemisphere in Nigeria as a favoured holiday destination.

24. It is rather sad for our state and the entire nation that Nigerian tour operators appear to be more interested in outward-bound than inward- bound tourists. Perhaps they are following the sound investment rule of putting one's money where one's mouth is. Should that be the case, it would be in our self-interest to assist tour operators who wish to invest in packaging tours to and within Delta State.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

25. Capitalising on the investment opportunities in Delta State is dependent on actualising the tourism potentials of the state, ensuring that the admirable administrative framework which has been put in place for tourism development functions smoothly and that investors endeavour to satisfy tourist needs arising from the various components of tourism. Our ultimate goal is to turn tourism into a mass activity and Delta State a preferred destination.

The threats to attaining this goal are many and it is very tempting to discourage ourselves by reeling them out: strangeness of tourism to our way of life, absence of disposable incomes, poor infrastructure, high level of insecurity, the lure of unearned wealth flowing from the proceeds of oil, high cost of investment funds and so on and so forth. But man achieves great things in spite (and sometimes even because) of threats and obstacles. It is in this understanding that the following suggestions are offered to help to chart a way forward:

i. that the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Delta State Tourism Board and Local Government Tourism Committees,
make increasing domestic tourism and number of visitors to the state their primary (if not only) mission;

ii. that every Local Government Council should be encouraged and assisted to establish a functional Local Government
Tourism Committee so as to make tourism community based;

iii. that the three bodies re-double their efforts at creating tourism infrastructure and promoting the tourism assets of their
respective areas of jurisdiction;

iv. that, considering the important place of water in tourism development in the state, efforts be made, perhaps with the
assistance of the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC), to re-open our inland waterways, such as River
Ethiope;

v. that, the proposed Delta State Regatta be made a grand bi- ennial internationally promoted event the rights to host which
can be protected and awarded to private sector interests for a fee;

vi. that the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Delta State Tourism Board participate in the tourism and cultural activities
of other states, NTDC and national Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) so as to be conversant with current national trends
and promote our state;

vii. that as many state government agencies as possible be encouraged to host national events in order to attract visitors as Nigerians are still to imbibe the culture of travelling for pleasure at their own expense;

viii. that tourism marketing research as well as compilation of tourism assets and festivals be regularly commissioned and the
results made available to the private sector, tour operators and Nigerians at large;

ix. that the state should be made attractive to tourists through the development of such facilities as theatres, conference centres,
museums, art galleries, parks and zoos by individuals and communities be encouraged and the highest standards of
cleanliness, horticultural beautification and general excellence be made a permanent feature of our towns and other settlements - with the Government leading by example;

x. that tourism investors and professionals form themselves into trade groups and associations with a view to making inputs into
tourism policy formulation and influencing enactment of good tourism legislation;

xi. that specific incentives be approved for investors in tourism;

xii. that Deltans bring their money home to invest in tourism and other industries; and

xiii. that all tourism and culture related events and assets in the state be posted regularly on the Delta State Government
website and recognised associations and individuals encouraged to take advantage of available free links to the site as the internet is now the cheapest and most effective way of reaching millions all over the world on a continuing basis.

25. The list of recommendations is not exhaustive nor is meant to be. The whole idea is to hint at those lines of action which could result in attracting tourist money into the state, make investments by entrepreneurs worthwhile and ultimately increase government revenue from taxes and levies. That is what tourism is about. It is essentially the business of encouraging visitors to come into a destination carrying their money and making them enjoy spending as much of it as possible before departing. If we keep our eyes firmly on that, we are not likely to go far wrong.

Any other approach or mission would scare reduce our ability to attract visitors. Naturally that would discourage investors who might well take their money elsewhere. For, in the light of present economic realities, the temptation to invest in areas with short gestation periods could well prove to be too strong for our investors.

Be that as it may, investors should not forget that oil, upon which our national economy currently depends, is not only a wasting asset but one with very volatile market value. (No pun intended.) They should, therefore, caution themselves against putting all their eggs in one oily basket - so to speak.

They need to ponder a future without oil. Tourism could well occupy a central place in that future. It makes good business sense to get in on the first floor right now. If this is accepted, then they need Government as much as Government needs them. With that, let us declare the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Delta State Tourism Board as well as Local Government Tourism Committees, on the one hand, and the Private Sector, on the other, truly and well married.

26. Finally, let us place on record deep appreciation of recent efforts by the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Delta State Tourism Board as well as Delta State Council for Arts and Culture at developing and promoting culture and tourism in the state. Nothing is perfect so there may be much that calls for improvement in what they are doing.

However, their present activities constitute welcome improvement upon what has been their record since the creation of our great state. It is hoped they will continue to harness what is best in the state in organising regular activities. For the success of the ministry and its parastatals depend largely on constant flow of activities. And the image of this state depends much on that ministry.

27. Thank you very much

Ministry of Housing Asaba

March 2005