Nollywood: Driving Tourism Through Film

 A tourism expert, Mr  Stanley Norbert  has urged   filmmakers in Nigeria  to  showcase the country’s rich tourism potential to the world through  their movies.

Norbert made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the role of entertainment in   society cannot be overemphasised, noting that entertainment fostered creativity, relieved stress, and contributed to cultural preservation and economic growth.

According to him, film is a veritable tool for showcasing a nation’s lifestyle and opportunities it has to offer,  beside entertainment.

” The Nigerian movie industry, popularly known as Nollywood, is   known all over the world. They have gained acceptance on the global stage, which makes it a viable platform to promote the nation’s tourism potential.

” Projecting tourism potentialities in Nigerian movies create great awareness for tourists in other parts of the world to visit the country.

” Many foreigners do not know most states in Nigeria, but we filmmakers showcase those states and their beauty in various movies; they will be moved to come and see things for themselves,” he said.

 He added that filmmakers should portray the good image of Nigeria in their movies, by ensuring that any film produced represented the country positively.

” They should portray the good image of Nigeria with their movies to the world, by stopping the roduction of se movies that portray a lot of witchcraft activities that have sold the image of Nigeria as fetish.

“The movie industry gives us a great advantage as well as great at base to build our tourism by king age of the positive parts,” he added.

He urged state governments to encourage tourism as they have legal powers to regulate and organize these tourist destinations that are owned by states. (NAN)