World Tourism Day opens new windows into Nigeria

It was a day that brought tourism friendly countries together to commemorate the World Tourism Day, a day set aside by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). This year, the global anniversary took place in Accra, Ghana under the theme: “Tourism Celebrating Diversity.” The day focused on the world’s cultural wealth and the important […]

It was a day that brought tourism friendly countries together to commemorate the World Tourism Day, a day set aside by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

This year, the global anniversary took place in Accra, Ghana under the theme: “Tourism Celebrating Diversity.” The day focused on the world’s cultural wealth and the important role sustainable tourism plays in revitalizing local traditions and making them to flourish as they cross other cultures.  

For Nigeria, It was a double celebration in far away Ghana as the UNWTO used the event to honour late Ignatius Amaduwa Atigbe, a Nigerian who during his days as the head of the country tourism agency and chairman of Africa Travel Commission proposed the idea of marking September 27 of every year as World Tourism Day. The Nigerian delegation to Ghana was led by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC).

Back home, the national celebration took place in the ancient city of Kano and as usual, it attracted stakeholders from different parts of the country who came to exchange ideas on how best to reposition the sector.  The Kano event was organised by the Kano State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in collaboration with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC).

The celebration kick-started on Saturday, September 26 with a guided city tour packaged by the Kano State  government. The tour took delegates to the Tambarawa Water Works, the multi-billion naira Kanawa International Trade Centre project, Kofar Mata Dye Pits, the famous Gidan Makama Museum, the remains of the historic Kano city walls and Dala Hill.  

The following day, the event commenced with a visit to the Palace of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero. During the visit, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation Sen. Bello Jibrin Gada, who spoke on behalf of the delegates, intimated the royal father of the importance of the day to the economic development of the state which he said, has a lot to offer to a discerning tourist.

The celebration then moved to the conference hall of Royal Tropicana Hotel where speeches where presented.

In his speech at the event, Gada said the event provided Nigeria the opportunity to inform the world of the Federal Government’s efforts to re-position tourism as a veritable tool for the transformation of the socio-economic fortunes and well-being of Nigerians. He said, “other than adding perspective to the role of globalisation in balancing tourism influx and environmental cultural sustainability, this year’s theme also aims to shed light on the most human side of the industry and its capacity to build understanding among the people.”

On his part, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau used the forum to reiterate the commitment of his government to the development of the tourism industry in the state. He said inline with its new policy, the state government has so far commitment N500 million to the “physical development of tourists sites in the state.”   He said the project included rehabilitation of the Kofar Mata dye pits, provision of pavilion at Palace of the Emir of Kano, rehabilitation of Kano Zoological Garden, Dala Hill, and the development of a comprehensive master plan for tourism development. He reiterate his determination to upgrade the state owdned Daula Hotel and appealed to investors to utilise the economic opportunities that abound in the state.

In his speech, elder statesman and Dan Masanin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule called for a bloodless cultural revolution through which he said Nigerians would uphold their cultural values and eschew social vices.

“We need to raise the moral code of our society. We need to fight corruption and religious conflict. We should know that in any place we find ourselves, we should see ourselves as one people that have one destiny and must project this attitude in a decent way. We have to live together peacefully, respect one another to promote unity in diversity,” Sule said.

On the choice of Kano for the event, Sule said the choice of Kano was suitable considering the enormous potentials the state is blessed with.  

He commended Governor Ibrahim Shekarau and Director General of the NTDC, Otunba Runsewe, for their various contributions to the development of the industry.

Also speaking, the Director General of the NTDC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe recounted the efforts put in to reshape the sector in the last three years which he said have brought life into the industry.

He said the industry has promoted not only the socio-economic life of the country but its image.

 “In the last few years, we have made a strong statement in adventurous historic, cultural, sport, conference/business tourism.” Because of these achievements, he said, state governors are now getting more involved in tourism development in their respective states.

The NTDC boss also used the forum to launch the Kano State Chapter of the NTDC Youth Tourism Club.  

NTDC unveils tourism products

Earlier, in an interaction session with travel journalists in Kano, Runsewe disclosed plans by the apex tourism regulatory body to unveil tourism friendly products. The products, according to him include a sensitisation programme to encourage hoteliers in the country to provide ramp and other facilities to cater for the physically challenged and elderly tourists. He said it is time for the industry to look inward in handling the issues of the physically challenged in the society.

The second product is a new billing procedure for hotels and events management venues to start billing their guests on hour basis rather than daily basis. He said the bid is to encourage punctuality and better time keeping. Other products, according to Runsewe include the compilation of a comprehensive statistic data on tourism performance national Dress Code and Yellow Page on Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt  to enable tourists have easy access to information on their destination of choice.

Also on hand, was the Kano State cultural troupe who thrilled delegates with different cultural displays.