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Everywhere you go, you interact with the political decisions of different governments. Whether you are travelling within Nigeria or outside the country, you are affected by the politics of the land.

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Here are some key areas where politics directly affects tourism:

Passport And Visa Policies

Travelling from one country to another makes you engage in politics. Your passport is a government property that is issued by your government. And your government’s relationship with other countries determines if your passport will be strong or not. Even visa policies of how much time you can spend in another country or in Nigeria for those coming in are determined by the government. Recall how many countries shut down their borders during COVID and came up with travel restrictions for who gains access to their countries? That was an obvious example of how politics affects tourism or international travel. 

Local Economies

When you use hotels, airports, or visit national parks, there are taxes included in the fees that are paid to the government. They use these fees to maintain the facilities and create more. It is not only international travellers that are affected by these taxes but also those involved in domestic tourism. There is also the repercussion of import duties on local economies.

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To run a tourism business, you might need to associate with international brands to make customers feel more at home. And when you add the cost of import duties to your running cost, your offering becomes more expensive. These add to how affordable a tourism package can become. 

Tour Destination Security

When you travel by road or air, you interact with the result of a political decision. For instance, the issue of fuel subsidy or high import rates directly affects the cost of your airline tickets both for domestic and international travel. Even if you travel by road, the government handles road maintenance, and this relates to the budget allocation decisions. Laws made by people in government also dictate your speed limit within the cities for intercity tours.

Last but not least, the level of security provided by the government for its people dictates your ability to visit certain destinations. We all know there are a lot of beautiful tourist destinations that people are afraid to leave their states to visit. E.g. Kajuru Castle in Kaduna, which was attacked multiple times. Or places like Yankari National Park or Jos National Park which are affected whenever religious or ethnic crises break out in town. So having a government that is responsive to security challenges will make it easier for tourism to take place freely in Nigeria.
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Tourism makes you a global citizen. So you have to know what the political climate is in the country you intend to visit. This way you do not get trapped in a foreign terrain at a time of national crisis.

I hope with these few points of mine, I have been able to convince (not to confuse) you that politics affects your travel prospects. Even if you believe your vote will be wasted on the candidate of your choice, waste it anyway. It is time we vote for what we believe in as a people. Let the outcome of the election be our judge.

Source

Travel Shift

Dangerous Business

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This article was first published on 18th July 2022

ann

Ann Esievoadje is a freelance writer who is passionate about encouraging a reading culture and personal development. She has authored two books, The Quilt (fiction) and Being Mummy and Me (non-fiction). She manages Pulchra Publishing which offers a content creation/editing, transcription, different forms of writing (including Ghostwriting) service and her blog, Life Love and Anything Goes at annesievoadje.blogspot.com.ng. You can reach her at annesievoadje@gmail.com

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