Nigeria to unveil tourism policy as minister rallies industry for support

The Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, has called for support from the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) to reverse the decline of Nigerian tourism while decrying the extreme bickering and animosity among practitioners in the industry.

Pushing for sanity and collaboration in the industry, Ade-John said these negatives could be distracting and could ambush progressive efforts both in the public and private sectors to have an organised, bankable cultural tourism economy.

According to the minister, “By mid-September, we shall unveil the tourism policy, listen to the private sector operational ecosystem, and discuss data and statistics ethos, which will help us plan, motivate, and inspire a reward ecosystem for private sector visibility and ownership of the sector. Our noble role is to offer guidance and assistance where necessary and ensure discipline to mobilise the informal sector and formal economy to improve our services, products, and offerings.”

Ahead of World Travel Market London (WTM London), a prominent international tourism and trade event to be held in November, Ade-John said that the government will rally the nation to support NANTA’s attendance at the event.

“We are upbeat about supporting your association and looking forward to being at the WTM. NANTA has shown the capacity and technical knowhow to stay ahead of this noble gesture, and as government, the minister of culture, and I have met and agreed to support institutions such as yours to project this campaign, which is part of the government’s intention to provide direction for the private sector to create jobs and gain knowledge of how to welcome and satisfy visitors to Nigeria,” she said.

Commending the travel association for their determination and commitment to promote the country’s cultural tourism values and offerings, the minister mentioned that the ministries of culture and tourism recently collaborated to approach the governments of all 36 states to join the advocacy campaign aimed at showcasing Nigeria’s abundant cultural tourism resources to the global audience.

Assuring Nigerians that the issue of visas is being attended to by the interior minister, she urged citizens to support the government’s efforts to establish a friendly and acceptable environment for both Nigerians and foreigners.

“I believe in the power of our domestic tourism, getting Nigerians to love Nigeria, visit each other, and appreciate our rich socio-cultural diversity. NANTA is big, and I am sure together we can make Nigerian culture and tourism trade great and very attractive,” Ade-John insisted.

Earlier, the Minister was informed and reassured by the President of NANTA, Yinka Folami, that the association has taken it upon itself to market and promote Nigeria at the WTM in London, a project the association has done successfully in the past two years, committing huge funds and energy.

“It is a heavy burden for us, but we felt we must help our country in times of need to help tell the stories of our rich cultural and historical diversities, and we have no regret doing it because we believe in the Nigerian Project,” he explained, adding that NANTA expects the government to support the drive to bring Nigerian cultural tourism to the marketplace of global tourism and travel businesses.

“We honestly received some encouragement from NTDA and NCAC in the past. But we want to have a bigger Nigerian project at WTM, and having done it successfully in the past two years, with the Nigerian student community in the United Kingdom turning out to support our initiative, we wish that the government should be part of the marketing and promotion movement, which would help attract not only visitor traffic but also critical investment to the country,” Folami said.