Nigeria may not be the first country travel agents think of when they sell Africa, but its tourism officials are out to change that. The director-general of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation and several key delegates from Nigeria on Aug. 7 wrapped up a nine-day road show throughout the U.S. in an effort to bolster tourism to their country. The tour, which included stops in Jacksonville, Fla., Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., featured visits with representatives from U.S. media, sports and travel organizations.

During the Nigeria Tourism road show, delegates from the country met with American contacts from multiple outlets, including: the PGA Tour, to discuss developing golf tourism opportunities in Nigeria; Nigerian basketball players Nicky Anosike and Nneka Ogwumike from the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks; Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News; representatives from the Los Angeles Times, CNN Travel, Lonely Planet Television, the Washington Diplomat, Sports Travel magazine, The Africa Channel, All Africa, and Black Meetings & Tourism; AEG Entertainment; tour operators Cox and Kings and African Travel; leadership from the Corporate Council on Africa and the National Tour Association; and the Honorable Josh Cohen, mayor of Annapolis, capital of the state of Maryland and home to the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial, which commemorates the place of arrival of Kunta Kinte to the New World.

 “We are delighted and proud to introduce Nigeria’s rich assets to so many noteworthy people in the U.S. market,” said Olusegun Otunba Runsewe, director-general of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation. “This road show has been a wonderful experience and we see many great things to come between the U.S. and Nigeria for travelers of all types, from business to pleasure.”

Nigeria, the West African coastal nation with the largest population, offers spectacular beaches, unique wildlife and vast expanses of unspoiled nature. Visitors can explore the country’s cultural heritage from one of the primary sources of the African Diaspora as well as mangroves, rainforests, rich savannah plains, mountain ranges, and hundreds of lakes, rivers and waterfalls.

“We strongly believe that the history of African Americans can be traced to Nigeria and thus we will be promoting the theme, ‘Nigeria: Our History is Your History,’” Runsewe said. Nigeria Tourism’s integrated marketing campaign will launch late this fall in select cities throughout the U.S.