Nigeria has invested heavily in tourism development, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday disclosed that his administration has invested heavily in tourism development.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 61st meeting of United Nations World Tourism Organization Commission for Africa (UNWTO-CAF), President Buhari added that steady efforts were being made to diversify the economy through agriculture, solid minerals development and tourism.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation  (SGF), Boss Mustapha, noted that the present administration has injected about $9 billion to strengthen its investment in power, roads and railway, which are necessary infrastructure for tourism development.

According to him, his administration has also provided attractive investment incentives for investors in the tourism sector.

These he said, include including minimum tariff on imported tourism equipment, amusement park equipment and materials for hotel construction and furnishing.

Others are dedicated transportation for tour operators and equipment for restaurants not manufactured in Nigeria, work permit for foreign workers with specialised skills within the industry and land at concessionary rate by state governments to tourism investors.

He stated that the administration, having identified the tourism sector as one of the pillars of its diversification policy, is also investing heavily in infrastructure and human resource development in order to make Nigeria a choice destination for tourists.

His words: ‘’In our efforts at diversifying the economy through , solid minerals development and tourism, we are investing heavily in infrastructure.”

The president commended the leadership of the UNWTO, the Commission for Africa (CAF) as well as tourism ministers from all over Africa, for considering Nigeria worthy of hosting this event.

While being hosted at a media briefing last Sunday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Secretary General of the UNWTO, Amb. Zurab Pololikashvili commended Buhari for creating the enabling environment for hosting g the first UNWTO-CAP meeting in Nigeria.