The Federal Government is in support of MyCityApp. This is a Nigerian platform that helps people discover cities and tourism. It aims to gather festivals, concerts, and lifestyle events in one digital calendar.
The platform was launched on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The launch also kicked off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar. This plan aims to use Nigeria’s festive season from September to December to create jobs, attract investment, and develop the tourism and creative economy.
The conference gathered government officials, tourism operators, event organizers, and private companies. They discussed how to turn the festive season into more economic chances.
During the unveiling, the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, noted that millions of visitors travel around Nigeria during the festive season. They come to celebrate, reconnect, and spend money.
She mentioned that this period can be organized and promoted to boost its impact on the national economy.
“This initiative is about going beyond the normal festive season. It is about organizing, packaging, promoting, and making money from one of the most economically busy times in our national calendar.
“Every visitor creates a value chain, from aviation and transportation to hotels, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans, and local communities. Within these value chains are chances for businesses, jobs, investment, and livelihoods,” Ms Musawa said.
The minister praised the Chief Executive Officer of MyCityApp, Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision, determination, and commitment to the project.
She also encouraged state governments, event organizers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses, and other players to add their events to the national Ember2Remember calendar for September to December.
“If you are organizing a festival, concert, exhibition, food event, cultural celebration, fashion event, sporting event, tourism experience, conference, or any major activity during this time, we want it on the national calendar.
“We want to create a single, reliable, and appealing platform where Nigerians, those in the diaspora, and international visitors can find out what is happening across Nigeria. Imagine someone in London, New York, Johannesburg, or Toronto being able to see, in one place, the amazing experiences available across Nigeria,” Ms Musawa stated.
$100bn tourism goal
Earlier, Ms Chukwu spoke about Nigeria’s cultural wealth as a big economic chance. She said the country can turn visitor experiences into more economic value.
“When we talk about building a $100 billion tourism economy, it may sound ambitious. But worldwide, the facts show us it is possible. In 2024, tourism brought over $270 billion to Spain’s economy, about $289 billion to France, and over $2.5 trillion to the United States. So, the question is not whether a $100 billion tourism economy is possible. It is: why not Nigeria?” Mrs Chukwu asked.
The initiative plans to use MyLagosApp and MyCityApp as digital platforms to share events through what the organizers call a 360-degree media ecosystem. This will target audiences in Nigeria and abroad.
Organizers urged event planners and other stakeholders to upload their events to the MyCityApp platform.
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