Transport, Infrastructure and Tourism Development in Nigeria: A Systematic Review of Accessibility, Patronage and Destination Development

Abstract

Transport infrastructure is widely recognized as a key factor in tourism development as tourists require transport infrastructure to gain access to tourist destinations and attractions. In Nigeria, transport infrastructure is dominated by road transport, while transport infrastructure for other forms of transport is limited. This study presents a systematic review of primary empirical studies on transport infrastructure and tourism development in Nigeria. The study searched several databases in August 2026, including Google Scholar, Academia.edu, ResearchGate, AJOL, and DOAJ, as well as conducting a search of grey literature. The screening of studies was conducted by two independent reviewers. Out of 21 studies retrieved from the databases, 20 studies were screened after removing duplicate studies. After reading the full texts of the studies, 6 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). The selected studies, mostly from Lagos, Ekiti, and Ebonyi States and the South-South zone, identified a relationship between the condition of roads, connectivity, and accessibility to tourist destinations and patronage, site accessibility, and transport infrastructure development. These findings confirmed road transport as the dominant form of transport used to access tourist destinations in Nigeria. However, there are limited studies on this topic, mostly conducted in southern Nigeria. Furthermore, most of the studies utilize cross-sectional designs and collect perception data which makes it impossible to establish a causal relationship between transport infrastructure and tourism development in Nigeria, and the findings cannot be generalized to the entire country. A narrative synthesis, organized by outcome (accessibility, road quality, patronage, transport availability, and infrastructure development), was used in place of meta-analysis. The review concludes with evidence-based policy implications and recommendations for multi-state, objective-measure, and non-road-transport research.