Determinants of Domestic Tourism Demand in Nigeria: An Empirical Study Across the Six Geopolitical Zones

This study investigates the key determinants of domestic tourism demand across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones using an econometric panel data approach. Despite domestic tourism's acknowledged potential for reducing economic leakage and developing peripheral regions, its demand determinants remain empirically underexplored in the Nigerian context. Secondary data are sourced from the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation's domestic visitor statistics, National Bureau of Statistics income data, and state-level infrastructure indices for the period 2018 to 2023. A fixed-effects panel regression model is specified to control for unobserved zone-specific heterogeneity. Results indicate that per capita income, road infrastructure quality index, hotel room availability, and internal security index are statistically significant positive determinants of domestic tourism demand, while distance between origin and destination zones exerts a significant negative effect. The North East and North West zones exhibit significantly lower demand responsiveness to income growth compared to other zones, attributable to security perception effects and infrastructure deficits. Festival and cultural event density is found to be a statistically significant positive demand shifter, particularly in South West and South East zones. The study recommends differential demand stimulation policies tailored to zone-specific constraints, with infrastructure-led interventions prioritised in northern zones and cultural product development targeted at southern zones. Keywords: domestic tourism demand, panel data, determinants, Nigeria, geopolitical zones