• Seeks review of NIHOTOUR, NTDA Acts, vows to protect operators
• NATOP advocates stronger alliance with Institute to boost tourism workforce

The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) has called on the Federal Government to urgently review the National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) Act 2022 and the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) Act, warning that regulatory confusion from both Acts is crippling investment and threatening the survival of private tourism businesses in the country.

The demand formed the centrepiece of a communiqué issued by the body in Lagos during a media briefing marking one year of the current leadership of the Association under Dr Badaki Aliyu.

The event, themed “Changing the Narrative: Tackling the Structural Challenges of Nigeria’s Tourism Industry through the Tourism Transformation Mandate (TTM),” set the tone for what FTAN described as a decisive push to reposition tourism as a driver of jobs, investment, and regional integration.

According to the private sector tourism association, the Acts are doing more harm than good to the industry.

FTAN urged that the two Acts should be sent back to the National Assembly for rework to clearly define the roles of the agencies and protect the interests of operators.

It also advised that in the interim, NIHOTOUR and NTDA should focus on their initial mandate while the process is going on.

President of FTAN, Dr Badaki Aliyu, said the current leadership of the Association had developed and adopted the Tourism Transformation Mandate (TTM) as FTAN’s strategic blueprint, emphasising that actions taken in the last 12 months include strengthening the FTAN secretariat, institutionalising more inclusive engagement with member-associations, and setting plans to inaugurate zonal structures to empower state chapters.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) has pledged to strengthen its partnership with NIHOTOUR as part of efforts to bridge the gap between professional training and industry practice in Nigeria’s tourism sector.

NATOP President, Bolaji Mustapha, while speaking yesterday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, described the Institute as a very important institution that had continued to play a leading role in the training, development and regulation of hospitality and tourism professionals in the country.

Aliyu said that a major focus of the one-year report was FTAN’s renewed commitment to protecting members’ interests and business viability, adding that the federation, under the current national executive, had rebuilt productive working relationships with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, and strengthened collaboration with NTDA and other government agencies to ensure the private sector has a seat at the table.

According to Mustapha, the quality of manpower was the backbone of a thriving tourism industry, stressing that closer collaboration between operators and training institutions was essential to unlocking the sector’s full potential.

She said: “As stakeholders in the same industry, NATOP recognises that the strength of tourism operations is only as good as the quality of manpower that drives it.”

FTAN, however, announced that it had repositioned the Nigeria Tourism Investors Forum and Exhibition (NTIFE) as a broader regional platform, saying: “In a major win, the current leadership secured ECOWAS support to host the COPITOUR executive meeting in Abuja during NTIFE 2026, which Badaki described as “an unprecedented platform for regional cooperation, investment promotion and cross-border tourism partnerships.”

He said that FTAN had also restored institutional ties with the ECOWAS Commission and expanded engagement with regional tourism organisations.

The move, the president averred, was part of a wider push to restore Nigeria’s leadership in West African tourism.

Badaki, while commenting on the poor visibility of FTAN and what is next, acknowledged that tourism still suffers from poor visibility in the country despite its contribution to diversification and employment.

He stated that to counter this, the current leadership of the association ramped up national media engagement, advocacy campaigns, and stakeholders’ communication to improve public confidence in the sector.