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With Okorie Uguru
The Federal Government has endorsed the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform where different tourism products like festivals, concerts and other leisure activities can come under a single digital calendar.
The MyCityApp was launched to coincide with the 100-Day Tourism Calendar at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Lagos. The app also keyed into the federal government’s initiative to unlock $100 billion opportunity in tourism and the creative economy and to deepen the sector’s contribution to national development.
The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Mrs Hannatu Musa Musawa, in her speech at the occasion, said the September to December period sees increased travel by Nigerians.
She called for stronger collaboration between government and businesses to transform Nigeria’s cultural and creative assets into sustainable economic value.
She identified music, fashion, cuisine, festivals, heritage, hospitality and Nigeria’s creative talent as assets capable of attracting domestic and international visitors and generating economic activity across multiple sectors.
She urged state governments, event organisers, hotels, tour operators, cultural institutions and private businesses to get enlisted in the calendar, creating a central platform through which Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors can discover experiences across the country.
She said: “The tourism, cultural and creative economy is one of those sectors with the capacity to deliver precisely this kind of broad-based growth. Our responsibility is therefore to move from seeing tourism and creativity simply as entertainment to recognising them as serious economic sectors capable of attracting investment, generating employment, supporting businesses and contributing significantly to Nigeria’s GDP.
“This is why the ministry will continue to work with state governments, investors, creative entrepreneurs, technology platforms, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to build the ecosystem required to unlock this opportunity.”
Musawa added that the economic impact extends far beyond entertainment, but also increased visitor traffic for airlines, transport operators, hotels, restaurants, retailers, technology companies, artisans and community businesses.
She said the government would focus on creating the enabling environment through policy, infrastructure, security, destination development and ease of movement, while the private sector must drive investment and innovation.
The minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for birthing the initiative, saying the partnership was an example of how private-sector innovation could advance national economic objectives.
Speaking further on the MyCityApp, Musawa said the broader ambition was to move Nigeria from a seasonal celebration economy to a year-round tourism and creative economy, creating opportunities for young Nigerians, strengthening businesses, and attracting investment.
She stressed that the $100 billion opportunity could not be delivered by government alone, but required a coordinated national ecosystem involving the public sector, private businesses, communities and creatives.
The CEO of MyCityApp, Ifeoma Chukwu, said that building a $100 billion tourism economy in Nigeria might sound ambitious, but the evidence shows it is achievable, recalling that in 2024 tourism contributed over $270 billion to Spain’s economy, about $289 billion to France, and more than $2.5 trillion to the economy of the United States.
“So, the question is not whether a $100 billion tourism economy is possible. It is: why not Nigeria?
Nigeria is rich in culture, with one of the world’s most vibrant creative industries. The opportunity is to turn every visitor’s experience into economic value.
“Somewhere overseas, there is a Nigerian, or someone who simply loves Nigeria, asking: ‘What is happening in Nigeria between September and December?” Today, that information is fragmented.
“Events are all over social media. Another festival may have existed for 50 years, yet someone outside that community has never heard about it. That is the gap we want to close. That is why we created Ember2Remember,” she added.
She said the MyCityApp and MyLagosApp, was the digital engine for the National Digital Calendar that brings events and experiences across Nigeria into one place and pushes them through a 360-degree media ecosystem to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
