A seven-step program to turn Nigeria into a "tourism giant"

The Eagle Online, a Nigerian newspaper, published a thoughtful article yesterday on seven steps Nigeria must take it if it become a "tourism giant". With outstanding cultural heritage, attractive beaches, dynamic cities, etc, the country undeniably has tremendous potential, yet as everyone knows Nigeria is dogged by an awful reputation for corruption online con artists and, in recent years, a bloody Islamist insurgency.

While arguably Nigeria needs to focus first on improving its international reputation and tackling Boko Haram before it can hope to attract any significant number of international visitors, all seven steps are sound, and moreover several could equally be applied in any number of countries, including many whose current tourism strategy seems fixated on showcasing just one or two major attractions, raising serious questions of sustainability and equity in the process (Cambodia's focus on Angkor Wat comes to mind in this regard).

In brief, the seven steps are:

1. Develop a tourism mindset 
2. Promote internal tourism 
3. Integrate all the tourism attractions 
4. Make travelling easy 
5. Give us world-class institutions 
6. Dream big dreams 
7. Give everyone light

Good advice, to which I would add just one more suggestion: given local people a stake in the success of the tourism industry, as they can be your most effective ambassadors to foreign visitors - either in a positively or negatively.