Detty December: Tourism revenue threatened by rising costs – Operators

Nigeria’s fast-growing yuletide tourism economy, popularly branded as Detty December, is facing increasing pressure from rising operating costs, weak service delivery, and poor coordination across the tourism value chain, industry operators have warned. Managing Director of Travelden (a subsidiary of Finchglow Holdings Ltd.), Gbenga Onitilo expressed concern over excessive pricing across the hospitality and entertainment […]

Nigeria’s fast-growing yuletide tourism economy, popularly branded as Detty December, is facing increasing pressure from rising operating costs, weak service delivery, and poor coordination across the tourism value chain, industry operators have warned.

Managing Director of Travelden (a subsidiary of Finchglow Holdings Ltd.), Gbenga Onitilo expressed concern over excessive pricing across the hospitality and entertainment sectors.

Speaking with journalists during a session with Finchglow Holdings, Onitilo said, “The overpricing is prevalent across hand short-let apartments, hiking their rates far beyond reasonable seasonal adjustments. Show promoters setting concert ticket and VIP table fees beyond accessible limits”.

He said many hospitality and entertainment businesses are now pricing based on foreign exchange because some of the visitors are coming from the diaspora.

“They are not doing it based on our reality anymore. That is now impacting on affordability and what is now going on is now pushing people to go to other countries because the government has not seen an opportunity there to find a way to regulate it,” he said.

Onitilo urged the government to work more with the players to structure the Detty December programme.

“Detty December this year, one of the major challenges we are seeing is overpricing. Hotels, apartments and even the ones that are affordable are six times the normal price,” he added.

Similarly, the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN) said the December travel surge—largely driven by Nigerians in the diaspora and international visitors—may struggle to sustain momentum this season, even before peak festivities begin.

In a statement issued in Lagos, the National President of ATPN, Femi Fadina, noted that the sector is increasingly characterised by luxury-level pricing attached to average service quality, a mismatch that threatens Nigeria’s appeal as a festive travel destination.

 

According to Fadina, Detty December did not become a global tourism attraction because of a structured national tourism framework, but rather in spite of its absence. He warned that many operators are now attempting to extract a full year’s profit within a single month, a practice he described as unsustainable.

 

 

 

He explained that hotels, short-let operators, airlines, transport providers, and event organisers have significantly increased prices during the festive season without corresponding improvements in customer experience. These challenges, he added, are worsened by poor customer service, unreliable transportation, traffic congestion, and inconsistent security arrangements.

 

Fadina cautioned that Nigeria’s competitive edge is eroding as other African destinations, including Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, and Benin Republic, offer better-coordinated tourism experiences, clearer pricing structures, and stronger public-private collaboration.

 

While Nigeria currently enjoys a first-mover advantage in December tourism, Fadina warned that the country is rapidly losing its value advantage. Without corrective action, he said Nigeria risks pricing itself out of the market it helped create.

 

Key concerns raised by the ATPN include the absence of a seasonal pricing policy, limited incentives for operators who invest in safety and service quality, and the lack of a coordinated national events calendar. Fadina also criticised the absence of a comprehensive tourism development blueprint that aligns transportation, security, hospitality, and entertainment planning.