Did You Know: The Effect Of Politics On Tourism for Nigerians (Part 2)

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.

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.

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.

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