The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), an umbrella body for private operators in tourism, travel and hospitality, has described Nigeria’s hosting of United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s first world conference on cultural tourism and creative industries as a wild goose chase of no benefit to Nigeria and Nigerian cultural tourism and creative industries. The association said the private sector strongly believe that the world conference is of no benefit to Nigeria and its tourism industry. It said that it is rather self–serving and more of personal aggrandisement and these can be deciphered from a critical analysis of the present state of our tourism and culture.
FTAN said the latest in the quest by the Minister and Ministry to turn Nigeria into ‘Father Christmas’ and ‘host country specialist’ for anything labeled UNWTO, is the holding of UNWTO conference at the National Theatre, Lagos in November between 14 to 17. Nigeria was given the hosting rights at the 64th meeting of the UNWTO in Cape Verde in 2021.
In an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the association alleged that the supervising ministry for tourism, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, and the Minister in charge, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, have neglected tourism, with no basic policy direction, programmes and activities wholly initiated and/or in partnership with the private sector to drive tourism in order to improve its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The Ministry and Minister appear to have an avowed disdain for domestic tourism and working with the private sector as the fulcrum to change the narrative and disruptive innovations in the sector as has been done in other climes,” the association said.
It lamented that priority has not been translated into physical reality and transformation of our sector, which is globally acknowledged as a multi-layered sector and the largest employer of labour with every ‘one’ employment out of 10 from tourism sector.
“Not even in the difficult era of COVID-19 when most of the MDAs worked closely with the private sector to devise palliative for survival strategies did the minister and ministry think it wise to court the private sector.
“The only reaction from the minister was to set up a ‘controversial’ creative industry committee to work out palliatives for the sector. Unfortunately, the recommendations of the committee and the review committee are today gathering dust and cobwebs in the ‘golden’ cabinet of the minister; neither disclosed nor recommendations implemented,” it added.
According to the association, the common dominator of the pre-COVID -19 era all over the world is tourism recovery strategies championed by the UNWTO. But, that sadly, ‘the minister has not felt the need to work in this direction especially given our peculiar situation; with our economy bleeding and our tourist destinations gripped by insecurity that does not repose confidence in tourists and investors in revamping our neglected tourism.
“Rather, what we have seen over the last seven years is that the minister and the ministry have been more focused on merely attending international events and meetings of the UNWTO and thus becoming ‘biding specialists’ by lobbying to get hosting rights to any UNWTO related events without putting in perspective the attendant economic cost and benefits to the country,” it noted.
In an interactive session with the media in Lagos, President FTAN, Mr. Nkereuwem Onung recalled that in his almost one year in office, he has written three letters seeking audience with the minister without success. He said: “My pain right now starts from the treatment of the industry concerning COVID-19. And that pain is in my bones. Aviation got over N4 billion, transport got about N2.6 billion, and the industry that was the hardest hit got nothing till date. If I have the privilege to meet the minister, these are parts of what I would have discussed with him on the way forward. These are issues that bother us as private sector leader.”