The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) recently held its 25th Annual General Meeting and Tourism Conference at the Rockview (Royal) Hotel, Abuja. FTAN is the umbrella body for private sector operators of Nigerian tourism. The atmosphere was a colourful and enlivened one, with many of the attendees; operators on Nigerian tourism in the different segments of the business, including government officials; looking the part and set for the business of the day.
The first session of business for the day was the formal opening ceremony that heralded the tourism conference, with the theme; Tourism in Nigeria: The way forward, featuring two panel sessions comprising discussants from both the private and public sectors, with the keynote address delivered by the former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, setting the compass for the panels. This year’s event turned out to be not just colourful but one adjudged by many as the most successful and eventful in recent years.
The government was fully represented at the event, with the Director General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Folorunsho Coker, standing in for the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who has been in the eye of the storm, as a result of the frosty relationship between him and the federation, which has called him out for his poor leadership and total abandonment of Nigerian tourism.
There was also in attendance, the DG of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe and the DG of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, who was represented by Mr. Philips Maga. Against this background many had expected a tensed atmosphere and a hold back by the two parties; that is, government and FTAN, however, it turned out to be a convivial atmosphere, availing each party to shoot straight from the hilt, without holding back on the failings on each part. What was most instructive was the reconciliatory move on the side of the government, leading to the two parties resolving to work together in exploring common grounds for growing tourism going forward.
The President of FTAN, Nkereuwem Onung, set the tone for the day in his welcome address when he painted a glowing picture of the success story of the federation in the last one year in terms of moving the federation on a new path of growth and engagement with both the government and operators in the sector and across board.
‘‘I am proud of everything that we have accomplished in the last one year; delivery on most of the ambitions of our 2021 campaign strategy, particularly when faced with the most difficult of circumstances of last year.’’ However, Onung noted that: ‘‘Our promise of consultation, collaboration, and friendly disposition, has been hindered by the arrogant disposition of the Ministry of Information and Culture. We believe it is time to push for a separate ministry for tourism in Nigeria.
‘‘Our recent imbroglio with the ministry on the hosting of the UNWTO conference on cultural tourism and creative industries was imperative because of the neglect of the tourism industry and lack of appreciation of the contributions of the private sector in tourism development.’’
Going forward, Onung said, the federation is set on a new path, which is that of creating wealth for itself, the members and the nation, noting that FTAN wants to create businesses for itself without conflicting with those of its members. This, he said will be achieved through the new matrix of TRIAC created by the federation. TRIAC, he said denotes: Tourism promotion (T); Research and development (R); Insurance (I); Advocacy; (A); and Capacity building (C). He disclosed that plans are underway to formally present the new matrix and other projects of the federation to the public.
The DG of NTDC, Coker, who won two caps on the day, started his presentation on a conciliatory note, commending the leadership of the federation for creating what he described as a new FTAN, declaring to the admiration of the audience that: ‘‘There is a new FTAN now, speaking with one voice,’’ as he admonished; ‘‘I want to encourage everybody to join and speak with one voice so that the government can know who to listen to, follow and work with in the development and promotion of Nigerian tourism.’’ He also applauded the federation for developing new capacities and evolving with the time in order to deliver on its promises.
While pledging to work closely with FTAN, he said it is time to close the gap and buried disagreements and disappointments of the past, in apparent reference to the frosty relationship between the ministry and FTAN, with a promise to lead the charge in resolving these differences. Coker also spoke of the need to embrace the new digital space, improve access to tourism, creating palliatives and incentives as well as seeking for investment fund for tourism, especially cheap loans and grants. He lamented the shrinking budget for tourism with so much to do but with inadequate resources. Given this frustrating situation, Coker said; ‘‘We must and should address the issue of funding between the ministry, it agencies and FTAN.’’
He ended by giving two promissory notes to FTAN; the first being a promise to organise a retreat for the sector involving the ministry, NTDC and other parastatals and agencies of tourism and FTAN to resolve the lingering issues affecting everyone. Then the second promise; is that of purchasing a bus for the federation. Both promises elicited a resounding applause and approval from everyone. The ball now is in the court of Coker and it is hoped that he would walk his promises and put to an end some of the issues affecting the sector, which have not allowed for enabling environment for the public and private sector to engage meaningfully.
Runsewe was not his usual egregious self when he mounted the podium, rather he was pensive, sober and reflective in his disposition and short delivery, lamenting the failures of the sector, as he insisted that not enough has been done by both the private and public sector to take advantage of what tourism offers the nation. With the huge resources of the country, he said it is disappointing that the nation is still struggling to get off the block and embrace the path of prosperity. Therefore, he said; ‘‘We need to sit down and tell ourselves the honest truth, it is time to tell the truth to ourselves.
I want to appeal to FTAN that nothing good comes without it challenges, therefore, let’s do what is needed of us to move this industry forward. ‘‘This is the biggest industry that can change Nigeria and Nigerians, let’s wake up and move this sector to the next level. On that note I commit this industry into the hands of God because it is divine intervention that we need.’’ He got a rousing applause from the audience, which was moved by his short but frank call to action.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of FTAN, Chief Samuel Alabi, who was represented by a member of the board, Alhaji Aminu Agoha, a former president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), harped on the new spirit of FTAN to admonish the members to be positive and dedicated to growing Nigerian tourism. While commending the leadership of the federation, he said that the federation is destined for success if it continues on the new path to glory, saying; ‘‘With the new FTAN, the federation is going to make inroad and break new grounds.’’
One other issue that attracted his attention was that of the lack of conservation and preservation of the nation’s traditional, cultural and national heritage. He called on the government to put in place appropriate mechanism to ensure the protection of these assets because of their potential to enrich the overall offerings of Nigerian tourism.
For the Director General and Chief Executive of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, who was represented by the Technical Secretary for National Mirror Committee on Tourism and Related Service, Chidinma Ewuzie, it is time Nigeria embrace global standards and certification for its tourism products, to this end, he declared the commitment of SON in offering technical support for the sector, working with FTAN, to achieve this onerous task.
‘‘SON as we know, is the apex standardisation body in Nigeria that provides unequivocal technical support to all businesses in determining quality of products/services using; standardisation, certifications and quality assurance,’’ said Salim. Adding that: ‘‘I am here today to remind us that we have in Nigeria all technical support we need to ensure that our tourism products are of quality and can access all desired markets once they are certified to the Nigerian Industrial Standards. ‘‘We are therefore, willing and ready to work with FTAN and the tourism sector to offer technical support for certification and standardization of Nigerian tourism products.’’
In his keynote address, which set the tone for the two panel sessions, the former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, looked at the challenges and prospects of Nigerian tourism. Given his antecedents as the former governor of the only state in Nigeria with a claim to truly building a tourist destination, he spoke exponentially, offering benefits of his insights. Some of the posers raised by him include the need to understand that tourism is private sector driven, therefore, it is imperative for the government to properly define its role, which majorly is to provide enabling environment and incentives for tourism to thrive.
While the private sector would also need to understand what its roles are and play along those lines. However, he lamented the huge gap created by the lack of understanding of these roles, therefore, called for tourism to be redefined if progress at all would be made in its development and promotion. He also drew attention to some other challenges, which included the lack of data for planning and measuring the contribution of tourism to the Gross Domestic Product of the nation; the unattractive nature of Nigerian tourism, which he said is due to the lack of tourism culture among Nigerians, insecurity and cultural beliefs.
However, he lamented that; ‘‘The greatest challenge I find is insecurity and access to tourism, which the government has to provide and when the government fails then the investors and operators too fail. ‘‘These are critical issues that we must address.
Why is the tourism budget shrinking when we a have a sector that we want to grow? How and when do we create capital for the industry? Is tourism a luxury good or is it a necessity? All of these are part of the challenges that we face.’’ He also looked at the area of developing tourism products, with attention on MICE and virtual tourism, which he said, is evolving and is the future. In terms of the prospect, Imoke said; ‘‘Nigeria potential is huge, we have so much to give as a nation to ourselves and the world. We must remain optimistic and ready to evolve. However, we do have security issue but let’s find a way around it. ‘‘I believe that inspite of the challenges, the tourism industry has potential, let’s look it and let’s explore it.’’
The two panel sessions were quite insightful and incisive, with the discussions by the public sector led by Coker, Kangiwa, who was represented by Maga and the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile -Yusuf, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Mrs. Yetunde Simpson while the private sector panel that was moderated by Andrew Iro Okungbowa, Travel and Tourism Editor, New Telegraph Newspaper, was led by Dr. Adun Okupe of Red Clay Advisory, Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, president of Institute of Tourism Professionals Nigeria (ITPN) and Adedayo Adesugba, CEO of Nexus318 Hospitality Management and Investment Company Limited. Post script: It’s time for action – Onung In his post script remarks at the end of the fruitful AGM and Tourism Conference, the President of FTAN, Nkereuwem Onung, expressed appreciation to the federation members and the government agencies for not only attending the event but also for their various supports in ensuring that the event was successful and inclusive as planned. Going forward, he called for action on the part of both the government and the private sector in order to achieve the desire results, with a promise to make public the documented resolutions from the event. According to him: ‘‘The industry has spoken and we listened.
It’s time for action and implementation. From the Keynote speaker’s urge to redefine tourism in Nigeria, to the government panel’s reminder that oil will deplete in the near future but tourism will never finish, to the private sector’s call for the need to develop a comprehensive market with a full grasp of the ecosystem and a stand-alone ministry.
‘‘It is time to increase the momentum of our demands for the industry and our partnerships with agencies, member associations, organisations and individuals who are interested in joining us to move the industry ahead. In the coming weeks, we shall be presenting you with action points from the focus group appointed to highlight key points from the AGM. ‘‘Once again, I thank you all for the massive show of support especially our three industry agencies; NCAC, NTDC and NIHOTOUR for the financial, moral and other support given to us which was greatly instrumental to the success of this AGM. ‘‘I look forward to the advancement of the industry with these renewed commitments and collaborations.’’
