The Eko Tourism Foundation (ETF) has initiated a strategic tourism and investment partnership with Mexico, aiming to replicate the Latin American nation’s successful hospitality model in Lagos and unlock the trillion-dollar potential of Nigeria’s travel and leisure sector.
Led by ETF Chairman and former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the collaboration seeks to position Lagos as a premier global tourism hub and a game-changer for West African tourism. The move, which gained significant traction with major coverage on April 6, focuses on knowledge exchange in destination marketing, hotel development, cultural tourism, and sustainable investment frameworks.
Officials highlighted Mexico’s proven expertise in transforming its tourism industry into a major economic powerhouse, with lessons particularly relevant for Lagos’ vibrant hospitality scene. The partnership is expected to drive foreign direct investment into hotels, leisure infrastructure, events, and creative tourism products, while fostering people-to-people ties and cultural synergies between the two nations.
“This partnership represents a bold step toward repositioning Lagos and Nigeria as competitive players in the global tourism market,” sources close to the Foundation noted. It aligns with broader efforts to diversify Nigeria’s economy through tourism, job creation, and infrastructure growth.
The initiative comes at a time when Lagos is aggressively pursuing its vision to become Africa’s tourism capital, with the ETF playing a pivotal role in mobilising stakeholders across the hospitality value chain.
Industry watchers describe the Nigeria-Mexico tie-up as timely and transformative, with expectations of concrete outcomes in investment deals, capacity building, and joint marketing campaigns in the coming months.
