Governments Are Starting to Treat Culture as Tourism Infrastructure
For decades, tourism strategy was relatively straightforward.
Build airports.
Promote landmarks.
Protect heritage sites.
Attract visitors.
Culture existed within that equation, but often as a supporting feature rather than a central economic asset.
That logic is beginning to change.
This week, the Lagos State Government announced that it had supported 201 creative programmes, festivals, and cultural events within the last year, a significant increase from the 143 events supported during the previous period. The government also highlighted investments in cultural preservation, tourism development, heritage restoration, entertainment infrastructure, and creative industry support as part of its broader economic strategy.
At first glance, the announcement looks like another government update about arts and culture.
It is not.
It is evidence of a much larger shift taking place across Africa.
Governments are no longer treating culture primarily as heritage.
They are increasingly treating culture as infrastructure.
Not because festivals are inherently valuable.
But because cultural experiences have become economic assets.
And in a world where cities compete for attention as fiercely as they compete for investment, attention itself has become a form of infrastructure.
Tourism No Longer Revolves Around Landmarks
Historically, tourism was built around places.
A monument.
A museum.
A beach.
A national park.
People travelled to see something.
Today, they increasingly travel to experience something.
A music festival.
A fashion week.
An art fair.
A cultural carnival.
A film festival.
A major sporting event.
The experience has become the destination.
This is one reason governments around the world are investing more aggressively in cultural programming. Experiences generate movement. They create urgency. They give people a reason to book flights, reserve hotels, spend money locally, and participate in the life of a city.
A beach remains where it is.
A festival creates a moment.
And moments travel faster.
They circulate through social media.
Through influencers.
Through creators.
Through audiences.
Through global news cycles.
Increasingly, cities are discovering that cultural relevance can attract visitors as effectively as physical attractions.
Sometimes more effectively.
Why Creative Events Matter Beyond Entertainment
The economic value of cultural events is often underestimated because people focus on the performance rather than the ecosystem around it.
A festival is never just a festival.
A concert is never just a concert.
A film event is never just a screening.
Each event activates an entire chain of economic activity.
Hotels receive bookings.
Restaurants see increased demand.
Transportation providers move visitors.
Fashion designers gain visibility.
Photographers secure contracts.
Media companies generate content.
Vendors sell products.
Creators access audiences.
Sponsors access consumers.
Local businesses benefit from increased activity.
The event becomes an economic multiplier.
This is why governments are becoming more interested in creative programming.
The return is not confined to ticket sales.
The impact spreads across multiple sectors simultaneously.
One successful cultural event can create value far beyond the venue where it takes place.
For governments seeking job creation, tourism growth, youth engagement, and international visibility, culture increasingly looks like a strategic investment rather than a discretionary expense.
Lagos Is Building an Attention Economy
Lagos provides one of the clearest examples of this shift.
The state’s recent announcement was not limited to creative event support.
It included the revival of the historic Eyo Festival after a decade-long absence.
The successful staging of the Lagos Fanti Carnival, which attracted more than 40,000 attendees.
Support for creative entrepreneurs and cultural stakeholders.
Investment in heritage sites and cultural monuments.
The redevelopment of performance infrastructure such as the Oregun Theatre.
Training initiatives that reportedly reached more than 10,000 young creatives.
Taken individually, these projects may appear disconnected.
Collectively, they reveal something larger.
Lagos is actively investing in cultural visibility.
The city is strengthening the institutions, events, and creative experiences that reinforce its position as one of Africa’s most influential cultural capitals.
This strategy is not unique to Lagos.
But Lagos may be among the most aggressive in pursuing it.
Because the city understands something increasingly important about the modern economy:
Attention creates opportunity.
Creative attention attracts tourists.
Creative attention attracts investors.
Creative attention attracts talent.
Creative attention attracts media coverage.
Creative attention creates economic activity.
The cities that successfully concentrate attention increasingly gain advantages that extend far beyond tourism.
Kenya’s Grammy Ambition Revealed the Same Logic
Perhaps the clearest illustration of this trend emerged last year when Kenya announced its ambition to host an African edition of the Grammy Awards.
The proposal generated immediate debate.
Some viewed it as a bold statement about Africa’s creative future.
Others questioned the cost and priorities involved.
But regardless of where one stood on the proposal, the underlying logic was impossible to ignore.
Kenya was not simply bidding for an awards show.
It was competing for cultural relevance.
The government recognised that hosting a globally recognised cultural institution could strengthen Nairobi’s position within Africa’s creative economy.
The objective extended beyond music.
It touched tourism.
International visibility.
Investment attraction.
Brand positioning.
Soft power.
Global perception.
In many ways, Lagos’ investment in hundreds of cultural programmes and Kenya’s Grammy ambition stem from the same strategic realization.
Culture is becoming a development tool.
Not merely a cultural policy issue.
A tourism policy issue.
An economic policy issue.
A city-branding issue.
A competitiveness issue.
The Real Competition Is Attention
This is where the conversation becomes particularly important for Africa’s creative economy.
African cities are no longer competing only with neighbouring cities.
They are competing globally.
For visitors.
For investors.
For creators.
For businesses.
For relevance.
Every city wants to become a destination.
But destinations are increasingly built through narrative as much as infrastructure.
People travel toward places they find culturally compelling.
The cities generating the most cultural conversation often become the cities attracting the most curiosity.
This is why governments increasingly support festivals, cultural institutions, creative districts, fashion events, film markets, and entertainment experiences.
Culture helps cities tell stories about themselves.
And stories influence movement.
In an economy shaped by algorithms, social media, and digital visibility, cultural relevance has become a strategic asset.
The cities that successfully generate attention gain a competitive advantage.
Not because attention itself is the goal.
But because attention often becomes the pathway through which investment, tourism, partnerships, and economic activity arrive.
Culture Is Becoming Economic Infrastructure
For much of modern policymaking, infrastructure meant roads, bridges, ports, rail systems, and airports.
Those investments remain essential.
But increasingly, governments are recognising another category of infrastructure.
Cultural infrastructure.
The institutions that create experiences.
The events that generate visibility.
The festivals that attract audiences.
The creative ecosystems that make cities culturally magnetic.
These assets may be less tangible than highways.
But their economic impact is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The most interesting thing about Lagos supporting 201 creative programmes is not the number itself.
It is what the number represents.
A growing recognition that culture is no longer sitting at the edges of economic development strategies.
It is moving toward the centre.
And that shift may become one of the defining stories of Africa’s creative economy over the next decade.
Because the question is no longer whether culture can support tourism.
The question is which African cities are building enough cultural infrastructure to make themselves impossible to ignore.
Written by Layo
Lead Editorial Writer, Creative Brief Africa
Outside of her editorial work, she writes Curious Health, a newsletter focused on everyday health questions, explored with clarity and care.