Tourism And Hospitality Business In Ile-Ife (Part I): A Focus On Popularity

Kayode Olawuni

The Ife Grand Resorts and Industrial Park, Ile-Ife

Deciding on location is one of the most important parts of business start-up. Investors generally look out for places that will be adaptable enough for the business to thrive.

This decision is particularly crucial when considering a multimillion naira investments like in hospitality.

Ife, like any other place on earth, has some peculiar natural characteristics which majorly favour its perfect configuration for certain human activities whether in business or any other field.

In the business environment and particularly in the hospitality sector, Ife can conveniently boast of a number of such favorable peculiarities or factors which make the City a golden fish for entrepreneurs in the multi-billion dollars industry.

Ife currently has an inventory of over a hundred hospitality establishments, comprising Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Guest Houses, Amusement Parks, Eateries, Museums, Monuments, Restaurants, Lounges, Bars, Club Houses and a host of related businesses, a clear indication of the city as a leading hospitality host.

As a matter of fact, the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II is himself an hospitality investor, as manifested in the planting of a 250 acres of hospitality edifice, the Ife Grand Resorts and Industrial Park.

The reason for a consistent attraction of businesses in this sector into the city is not farfetched. Notable among those factors is the relative security and peaceful atmosphere enjoyed in the city which encourages the influx of visitors and tourists alike. As a matter of fact, Ife has hardly been rated among the top crime locations in the country.

Ife's choice as a suitable home for hospitality businesses is also informed by the City's rich natural and human tourism assets. Ife is home to a vast number of historical and cultural sites, structures, monuments and festivals, making the city one of the most visited tourist destinations in Africa. 

The City's popular and beautiful cultural festivals are another major contributing factors to the current hospitality profile of the renowned African destination. 

As tourism generally provides market for the hospitality sector, prominent among those channels through which the market is secured are popular and widely attended cultural festivals for which Ife is notable. The city never run dry of visitors as it is involved in one festival or the other throughout the year.

Ife's hospitality advantage can also majorly be attributed to the social factor. Ife people are largely social with a considerable love for city entertainment. This is evident in periodic social and entertainment events championed especially by the City's younger population which attract visitors from within and the neighboring communities.

Judging from the foregoing, one may rightly conclude that the popularity of hospitality business over some other sectors in Ife is indeed merited.

Kayode Olawuni is the Publisher and Content Researcher at IFECITYBLOG. He is a professional blogger, tech enthusiast and digital entrepreneur.