Runsewe said this during his presentation at the just-concluded Tourism Journalism Masterclass organised by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) which was held at the International Conference Centre Abuja.
He also advocated a centralised industry engagement platform driven by the tourism media through the Association of Nigeria Travel and Tourism Writers of Nigeria (ANJET) where critical issues on the sector could be examined and solutions proffered. “This would engender effective collaboration and co-competition desirable to build a strong cultural tourism economy.”
Runsewe also rolled out recommendations and road maps to the tourism media as possible areas to anchor future focal attention on developments in the sector going forward, such as driving strategic partnership among stakeholders, headlining campaigns for industry change and agenda setting mantra, among many other media intervention possibilities.
The NCAC boss who also doubles as President, Africa Region of the World Craft Council (WCC), said that the rash of unhealthy bickering among practitioners and regulators must stop, noting that tourism business is no longer an all comers affair. He frowned at the distractions occasioned by the ‘Noise’ in the tourism communication ecosystem, saying no one can communicate information on a business to which he does not understand. “We have over time seen that some people set up tourism business due to bandwagon mentality and not because they understand the business which is highly demanding of professional competence and unfortunately the gap in knowledge contributes to disharmony and dislocations to service delivery.”
Runsewe however praised the organised tourism media for standing in a gap despite huge challenges and obstacles in reporting the sector, adding that he would mobilise agencies of government to invest in the training and retraining of the tourism media. He also commended NIHOTOUR Director General, Alhaji Nura Kangiwa for sustaining the tourism media training masterclass series over the years. “Nura Kangiwa is moving the tourism and hospitality vocational training intervention to the next level, and I must commend his interest in encouraging the best practices of tourism journalism without which Nigeria will not take its rightful place in the history of the tourism goodwill of nations.”
On the ‘Nigeria Culture House,’ he informed that the edifice, when ready for unveiling, would tell a story about the huge untapped economy of Nigeria’s cultural tourism economy. “It will be the one-stop shop where you can witness all we have in our cultural tourism industry and much more.”
