Abstract

Coastal and marine tourism (CMT) plays a significant role in the sustainable development of littoral States. However, piracy, among other illegal activities on the sea, threatens its sustainable development. Specifically, Nigeria is a coastal state with a multicultural society, and the country has introduced laws (Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Act) and policies (economic diversification, tourism, and the blue economy policies) to facilitate CMT. Nonetheless, piracy poses a potential threat to CMT development in the country. This article employs a doctrinal legal methodology to analyse legal instruments, policies, and existing literature on CMT and piracy, to determine the impact of persistent acts of piracy on Nigeria’s CMT. The article argues that piracy adversely affects CMT activities, especially when using cruise ships to visit tourist locations. Additionally, the absence of a specific policy on CMT development particularly creates a gap in synchronising tourism security initiatives with anti-piracy capabilities in Nigeria. Consequently, the study concludes that the introduction of corporate social responsibility (CSR) governance to curb the causes of piracy through CSR theories is a significant step towards the realisation of CMT development in Nigeria. This is key in reducing piracy because CSR integrates the introduction of CMT policy with existing related policies, paving the way for a positive environmental use that eliminates some of the causes of piracy.