The Federal Government has backed the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts and lifestyle experiences on a single digital calendar.
The platform was unveiled on Monday during the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The launch also marked the commencement of the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, an initiative aimed at harnessing Nigeria’s September-to-December festive season to create jobs, attract investment and grow the country’s tourism and creative economy.
The conference brought together government officials, tourism operators, event organisers and private-sector players to explore ways of converting the festive period into greater economic opportunities.
Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year during the festive season to celebrate, reconnect and spend.
She said the period could be deliberately organised and promoted to increase its contribution to the national economy.
“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods 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 opportunities for businesses, jobs, investment, and livelihoods,” Ms Musawa said.
The minister commended the Chief Executive Officer of MyCityApp, Ifeoma Chukwu, for what she described as her vision, doggedness and commitment to the initiative.
She also urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other relevant players to add their events to the national Ember2Remember calendar for September to December.
“If you are organising a festival, concert, exhibition, food experience, cultural celebration, fashion event, sporting event, tourism experience, conference, or any major activity during this period, we want it on the national calendar.
“We want to create a single, credible, and compelling platform through which Nigerians, the diaspora, and international visitors can discover what is happening across Nigeria. Imagine someone sitting in London, New York, Johannesburg, or Toronto being able to see, in one place, the extraordinary experiences available across Nigeria,” Ms Musawa stated.
$100bn tourism ambition
Earlier, Ms Chukwu described Nigeria’s cultural wealth as a major economic opportunity and said the country could convert visitor experiences into greater economic value.
“When we speak about building a $100 billion tourism economy, it may sound ambitious. But globally, the evidence tells us it is achievable. In 2024, tourism contributed over $270 billion to Spain’s economy, about $289 billion to France, and more than $2.5 trillion to the economy of the United States. So, the question is not whether a $100 billion tourism economy is possible. It is: why not Nigeria?” Mrs Chukwu queried.
The initiative is expected to use MyLagosApp and MyCityApp as digital platforms to distribute events through what the organisers described as a 360-degree media ecosystem targeting audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.
Organisers urged event organisers and other stakeholders to upload their events to the MyCityApp platform.
The conference was attended by the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; a representative of the Minister of Information and National Orientation; Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Obi Asika; Director-General of the National Gallery of Art, Ahmed Sodangi; Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola, among others.
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