Gbenga Oluboye is the publisher of Travellinks, a cultural and tourism magazine, which is projecting Nigeria’s cultural potentials to Nigerians and foreigners alike. In this interview with Adewale Oshodi, he speaks on how culture can be made to change foreigners’ perception of the country, as well as the need for investors to tap into the potentials culture has to offer.

Since you started the cultural and tourism magazine, Travellinks,what has been the challenges?
Challenges are part of life and I have always been prepared for it, but in some cases, the challenges take  longer than one expects. Apart from funding the project, which any new venture or business may encounter, other challenges are the attitude of  people around you; people are not ready to support such a long-term project and it is often very difficult to have a formidable team that will understand one’s vision and be ready to support it.

Now, would you say investing in the cultural and tourism sector  worth it afterall?
One of the easiest business ventures to invest into today is the cultural and tourism business. This is because the cultural and tourism sector in the country, if well harnessed, has the potential to displace oil as the country’s highest foreign exchange earner. There are some countries in the world that have no natural resource, but developed their tourist potentials, and they are making billions of dollars from it. That is if we want our cultural sector to target foreigners, but before that, we have a huge population that can sustain  the business locally. There are many Nigerians who have never visited some of our cultural and tourist attractions, and any business can come up and package tours for Nigerians to visit some places of cultural attractions in the country. These places abound in virtually all states of the federation. I would, therefore, say that investing in the cultural sector is worth it. However, the government must provide an enabling environment for the sector to develop. For example, the issue of security. No one will ever risk his or her life to go to an area where security is a big problem, like the kidnapping problem in some parts of the country.

How do you think Nigeria could promote its cultural and tourist potentials internationally, considering the country’s negative image abroad?
I have to give credit to Chief Olusegun Runsewe, Director General , Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) for his efforts in showcasing Nigeria across the world. Many Nigerians didn’t know much about tourism until recently. Many did not even know there are many investment opportunities in the tourism sector. So, what I’m saying is that, changing foreigners’ perception of the country is left to us. Chief Runsewe is doing a good job in this regards, and there are other businesses in this sector that are also contributing their quota in this regards. This is what Travellinks is also doing,  educating the people on where to travel to in Nigeria. By this, we are promoting the cultural and tourist potential of Nigeria in the international community.

We must not forget that some countries in Africa and some parts of the world are more terrible than Nigeria, but people still travel to these countries to explore and enjoy their vacation. The reason for this is that such countries are well promoted and that is what we must do in Nigeria. South Africa, for example, has one of the highest crime rate in the world, but it is a top destination for business and leisure travellers.We are on the path but we are not yet there.

What are the new things coming from Travellinks?
Travellinks is organising a reality game show, The Real Traveller. The show has been designed to highlight and promote our cultural life, from our heritage, people, food, costume, language, etc. The show will also bring to the attention of Nigerians investment opportunities in the cultural and tourist industry, while also promoting patronage for our heritage sites.