Lagos's Detty December season has become a significant contributor to Nigeria's economy, generating an estimated N396.54 billion in consumer spending in 2025, according to BusinessDay's reporting. This represents a substantial increase from the N111.5 billion recorded the previous year. The surge in spending can be attributed to the large number of diaspora visitors, who accounted for 55 percent of the total spending.
The Detty December season has also seen a shift in the source of visitors, with arrivals from the United States overtaking the United Kingdom for the first time. However, despite the impressive numbers, experts are warning that the growth is unsustainable without a well-structured tourism framework. Femi Fadina, national president of the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria, noted that the season's growth is starting to eat itself, with operators attempting to extract a year's profit within a single month.
The result of this unsustainable growth is a market where luxury pricing is attached to average service, and visitors start looking elsewhere on the continent. To address this issue, StayAfrik, a Nigerian travel company, has launched a seven-night package for the 2026 Detty December season. The package, called Eko for Show (Lagos): A December to Remember, offers a curated experience, including five-star accommodation, transportation, and entry to one of December's biggest concerts.
The package, priced at $5,300 per guest, is designed to provide a unique experience for visitors, with a focus on origin and familiarity. Bisola Animashaun and her sister Bukola, founders of StayAfrik, have run a Lagos hospitality and short-stay rental business for years and have watched the Detty December season change in real-time. They aim to provide a personalized experience, leveraging their knowledge of the city and its hidden gems.
According to Bisola, the opportunity lies not in beating competitors but in catching up with an industry that hasn't caught up with itself. She notes that Lagos has a lot to offer, but it's just not packaged correctly. The sisters' expertise in hospitality and travel has been built over years of quietly building December itineraries for their existing clients.
The package has a specific traveler in mind - diaspora Nigerians coming home for the season and foreigners who have never had to find their way around Lagos. The design center is the outsider, and the package aims to solve a real problem for anyone without a ready Lagos-based friend circle willing to build a week around them. Bookings for the Lagos package and StayAfrik's other 2026 offerings are open now.
Bisola makes a bigger claim about where this is headed, stating that Nigerians have mastered hosting each other, and the next step is hosting the world. With StayAfrik's package, the sisters aim to provide a unique experience that showcases Lagos's potential as a tourist destination. The cohort holds at twelve, and opening this many weeks out looks unusual only until you remember who’s running it - five years of watching December’s calendar fill early, and prices climb late taught them to move first.
Key points
- - Detty December season generated $71 million in 2025 - Experts warn that growth is unsustainable without a well-structured tourism framework - StayAfrik launches a $5,300 per guest package for the 2026 Detty December season
