Conceived in 2023 as a method to transform Plateau State’s plentiful tourism property into financial worth, the Jos Family Christmas Festival is quickly evolving right into a flagship vacation spot occasion, writes Yemi Kosoko
For a long time, Plateau State has worn the title, “Home of Peace and Tourism” with satisfaction. The cool climate of Jos, dramatic rock formations, cascading waterfalls, wildlife reserves, and wealthy cultural range have lengthy distinguished the state as one of Nigeria’s most naturally endowed locations.
Yet for a few years, a lot of this potential remained largely untapped.
Today, nevertheless, Plateau State is pursuing a brand new imaginative and prescient: remodeling its tourism property into financial alternatives. At the guts of that technique is an initiative that’s quickly turning into one of the state’s most recognisable tourism merchandise, the Jos Family Christmas Festival.
According to the General Manager of the Plateau State Tourism Corporation, Pwajok Chuwang Nyam, the pageant was conceived not merely as an leisure occasion however as a deliberate financial and tourism improvement device.
“The major reasoning behind having a Jos Family Christmas Festival was that, having recognised the fact that Plateau State is endowed naturally as a tourism destination, the question became how to move these natural endowments from potentials to real economic wealth and value for Plateau,” he defined.
The pageant was first launched in December 2023, simply months after Governor Caleb Mutfwang assumed workplace.
Tourism officers recognised a possibility within the Christmas season, one of the world’s busiest journey intervals, and sought to place Plateau State as a vacation spot of alternative for home vacationers.
The consequence was the Jos Family Christmas Festival, a month-long celebration designed to draw guests from inside and outdoors the state whereas concurrently creating enterprise alternatives for native entrepreneurs.
“We felt Plateau needed to position itself to begin to cash in on this money spinner,” Pwajok stated.
Unlike standard vacation occasions, the pageant was intentionally structured as an inclusive household expertise. Activities vary from Christmas markets and youngsters’s playgrounds to music live shows, theatrical performances, gaming centres, magnificence pageants, sports activities occasions, and cultural exhibitions.
The organisers have additionally created room for personal sector participation, supporting independently organised occasions that contribute to the festive ecosystem.
One such initiative is the Graffiti Music and Basketball Festival, launched in 2024 to draw youthful audiences and develop tourism choices past standard Christmas celebrations.
The Christmas Festival’s rising significance led Governor Mutfwang’s administration to institutionalise December as Plateau State’s official Tourism Month.
This coverage path has successfully reworked your complete month right into a calendar of tourism-focused actions.
Among the flagship occasions is the annual Unity Carol and Praise Festival, a three-day gathering that draws non secular leaders, public officers, entertainers, and guests from throughout Nigeria which had witnessed personalities like former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon, former President Olusegun Obasanjo whereas this yr’s occasion has secured the consent of former President Goodluck Jonathan and pioneer Executive Secretary Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission John-Kennedy Opara as particular friends on the occasion.
Held on the Ten Commandments Prayer Ground in Du, the occasion serves as the ceremonial opening of Plateau’s festive tourism season.
Another attraction is the state’s community-focused New Year Crossover and Fireworks Display, which gathers residents and guests on the Secretariat Roundabout in Jos to usher within the New Year.
Together, these programmes have helped create what tourism stakeholders now describe as a whole December tourism package deal.
While festivals present visibility, Plateau State’s tourism authorities acknowledge that long-term development depends upon infrastructure and sights.
Consequently, authorities efforts have prolonged to the revitalisation of tourism services throughout the state.
Among essentially the most notable interventions is the continuing improve of the Jos Wildlife Park, one of Nigeria’s most iconic conservation property.
According to Pwajok, the park had suffered years of neglect and growing city encroachment. To deal with these challenges, the state authorities has constructed over 17 kilometres of perimeter fencing and undertaken in depth renovation of present services.
Plans are additionally underway to modernise animal enclosures, redesign inner street networks, and develop customer experiences.
The state authorities is moreover exploring worldwide partnerships, together with ongoing engagements with the Republic of Namibia, geared toward buying further wildlife species for each the Jos Wildlife Park and the Pandam Wildlife Park.
The Solomon Lar Amusement Park can also be receiving renewed consideration. Once largely present in identify alone, the ability is being repositioned via partnerships with personal buyers to turn out to be a totally practical amusement vacation spot.
The Christmas Festival often is the latest face of Plateau tourism, however it’s constructed on foundations established by the state’s exceptional pure sights.
Among the state’s hottest locations are: Shere Hills, famend for mountaineering and panoramic views. Assop Falls, one of Nigeria’s most stunning waterfalls. Kurra Falls, combining pure magnificence with historic significance. Wase Rock, a spectacular volcanic isenberg and hen habitat. Riyom Rock Formation and the Kerang Highlands, celebrated for his or her distinctive geological formations. Others embody the Jos Wildlife Park, one of Africa’s uncommon city wildlife parks. Pandam National Park, identified for its biodiversity and the National Museum, Jos, residence to vital artefacts linked to the Nok civilisation.
Complementing these sights is Plateau’s distinctive local weather, typically described as one of essentially the most nice in Nigeria, making the state engaging all year long.
Beyond infrastructure and occasions, the state authorities is pursuing institutional reforms geared toward strengthening the tourism sector.
The Plateau State Tourism Corporation regulation, initially enacted in 1986, is at present below assessment to align it with trendy tourism realities.
Meanwhile, the state has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop a complete Tourism and Creative Economy Master Plan, anticipated to information future investments and coverage implementation.
For tourism authorities, the target extends past customer numbers. The broader ambition is to create employment, stimulate enterprise development, help inventive industries, and diversify the state’s economic system.
Security challenges have often dominated conversations about Plateau State in recent times. However, tourism stakeholders consider the state’s future story ought to more and more be advised via its alternatives relatively than its difficulties.
By combining leisure, tradition, religion, recreation, commerce, and neighborhood engagement, the pageant is progressively evolving into greater than a seasonal celebration. It is turning into an emblem of Plateau State’s willpower to transform its tourism potential into measurable financial worth.
If sustained, tourism observers say the initiative might place Plateau not solely as the “Home of Peace and Tourism” in slogan, but additionally as one of Nigeria’s main locations in apply.
And on the centre of that transformation is the concept of turning Christmas in Jos into an expertise that guests don’t merely attend, however one they return for yr after yr.
