Nigeria’s rapidly expanding Detty December tourism season is exposing critical gaps in supply chains and workforce readiness, according to Bayo Adedeji, Founder of Lion Hospitality Partner and Group CEO of Wakanow, who shared striking operational figures during the Naija7Wonders zoom Conference 3.0 hosted by Organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko.
Speaking at the digital tourism advocacy forum organised as part of preparations for the 2026 Detty December Festival, the hospitality entrepreneur disclosed that his network of venues — Wave Beach, Athena Beach, Kyma Beach, Unda Lounge, Lion Wonder Arena in Alausa, Egbeda and Ikorodu, as well as Doo & Shima Beach House — sold about 100,000 bottles of water in December alone, yet still struggled to meet customer demand.
The Naija7Wonders conference, themed “Detty December: Lessons and Impact,” brought together tourism stakeholders to assess how the end-of-year travel surge is reshaping domestic tourism, creating new economic opportunities, and positioning Nigeria as a festive-season destination on the global map.
While much attention is often placed on the vibrant nightlife, packed beaches, and sold-out events that define Detty December, the Lion Hospitality founder highlighted the less visible operational pressures behind the scenes — particularly supply and staffing.
“Another thing is supply. We could not get our hands on good supply as we went down the road. Being able to think about supply from the month of October — not even November now — is critical. My biggest supply problem was water,” he said.
According to him, the scale of consumption during December overwhelmed suppliers. Despite moving roughly 100,000 bottles of water across his hospitality outlets, there were days customers had to be told there was no water available because suppliers could not keep up with demand.
“If you just think about it — 100,000 bottles of water — that means we could not get enough supply. There were days we were telling customers we had no water because the supplier just couldn’t keep up,” he explained.
He noted that water, more than alcohol, space rental, or entertainment, turned out to be the single most profitable unit item during the festive rush, prompting him to rethink procurement strategy for future seasons.
“How do I make sure I get access to at least 200,000 bottles of water in December?” he asked, stressing the need for earlier and more structured logistics planning ahead of Detty December 2026.
Beyond supply constraints, staffing presented another major challenge. He revealed that despite frequent complaints about unemployment in the country, hospitality operators struggled to find enough personnel to handle the seasonal rush, with some workers quitting abruptly at the peak of operations.
“We could not find enough people to work. People continue to complain there are no jobs, and yet we can’t find enough people to do the work,” he added.
The Naija7Wonders platform, which first debuted in 2020, has returned with renewed focus as stakeholders look to better organise, plan, and harness the economic potential of Detty December. Discussions at the forum centered on how lessons from past festive seasons can inform better coordination among suppliers, hospitality businesses, and tourism planners ahead of 2026.
