NIHOTOUR, NBS sign landmark MoU to drive data-led growth in Nigeria’s tourism sector
By Maureen Aguta
Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its tourism economy with the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The partnership aims to close long-standing data gaps in the country’s hospitality, travel, and tourism industries and provide the credible intelligence needed for policy reforms, investment decisions, and sector development.
For years, inconsistent and fragmented data has limited Nigeria’s ability to accurately measure tourism performance, track visitor behaviour, or benchmark national progress against global standards. The new MoU seeks to change that by establishing a unified framework for sector-wide data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Under the agreement, both agencies will collaborate on comprehensive research covering accommodation, transportation, recreation, events, culinary tourism, destination activities, and workforce trends. The partnership will also produce joint reports that will serve as authoritative reference tools for government agencies, private investors, development partners, and industry operators.
NIHOTOUR Director-General/CEO Aare Fagade, said the deal represents a turning point for the sector.
“Reliable data is the backbone of meaningful progress. With this MoU, we are paving the way for smarter investments, better training, and a more globally competitive tourism industry.”
The NBS Statistician-General/CEO, Prince Adeyemi, described the collaboration as timely and aligned with Nigeria’s economic diversification priorities.
“NBS is committed to supporting sectors that hold great promise for Nigeria’s economic future. This collaboration ensures that the hospitality, travel, and tourism sector will now benefit from the same level of statistical rigour applied to other critical industries.”
The partnership is expected to deliver immediate value, particularly as Nigeria enters the peak December festive season—typically the busiest period for hotels, airlines, intercity transport, short-let operators, restaurants, nightlife, cultural festivals, and entertainment events. NIHOTOUR and NBS will jointly track visitor flows, spending patterns, booking trends, and workforce movement during the period to help operators and state governments manage high traffic more efficiently.
Sector analysts say the insights derived from the collaboration could improve crowd management, pricing decisions, safety measures, and general service delivery across destinations nationwide.
The MoU also supports the Federal Government’s broader agenda to reposition tourism as a major non-oil revenue source. It aligns with efforts to enhance professional training, upgrade industry standards, and improve Nigeria’s global brand appeal. By merging NIHOTOUR’s strength in capacity development with NBS’s expertise in statistical systems, the government hopes to build a resilient data ecosystem capable of driving long-term sector growth.
Industry stakeholders have welcomed the development, noting that credible data is essential for unlocking investment, measuring impact, and designing targeted interventions in an industry that holds vast potential for jobs and economic expansion.
With the new partnership, Nigeria is positioning itself for a more organised, measurable, and globally competitive tourism future.