Association Says Event Industry Impacts Nation’s Economy Positively

Rebecca Ejifoma

The Association of Professional Party Organisers and Event Planners in Nigeria (APPOEMN) has reminded the country that its industry – events – impacts the nation’s economy positively.

According to APPOEMN President, Mrs. Gbemisola Ope, in a media release issued, event industry job growth outpaces the average by four per cent. There were 1.9 million events including corporate, weddings, and social in 2016 alone.

She highlighted that the events industry account for billions of direct spending; supports millions of jobs; aids billions in salary and wages; every 50 event participants supported one Nigerian job.

In her view: “The event industry continues to employ diverse industries to execute its peculiar services, creates wealth and builds SMEs on many scale. Every event held improves lives daily in the country with impeccable cultural showcasing done through exotic production of events, from skilled workers to handyman on different levels.”

Ope further mentioned that events had always been a part of the nation’s culture and had received a sudden boost recently.

Expressing further, the event planner noted that event industry has emerged over the past decade as a dynamic sector of the tourism and leisure industries.

She added: “People will always celebrate. Celebration itself is perhaps the most common thing we have in the world crossing all barriers of race, religion, age, ethnicity, politics, economics, education and geography.”

Although the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 has negatively affected the global economy, APPOEMN says it continues to celebrate birth, achievements and milestones, life, death, discovery, victory, remembrance, history, patriotism, food, and family among others.

According to her, event industry supports jobs, brings money to local economies, and boosts dozens of industries. “We wanted to help quantify that impact.

For APPOEMN, the industry is deserving of proper and deliberate recognition for its productive inputs in developing the nation and placing her on the world’s map, describing Nigeria as the happiest nation that celebrates everything with diligence to the details of having credible events.