July 20, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Federal Government has advised tourism experts to proudly showcase their country’s diverse tourism attractions across country, calling on them to project the country in a positive light internationally.
Ade-John gave the advice on Thursday, in Ilorin, during the 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Association of Tour Operators (NATOP).
According to Ade-John, “We should not be engaged in de-marketing our country, and we should speak positively about this beautiful country.
“We are already engaging the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to further work on making people realise the essence of being proud of our country and projecting a positive image of the country.
“The time has come to imbibe in us the pride that Nigeria stands for. We need to sell our country. I want more investors to come and invest in the industry.
“I want tourism operators to be more visible at the airports, marketing Nigeria”, she said.
She said, tourism operators should not be discouraged in marketing Nigeria as a choice destination for tourists because of its challenge of insecurity.
She said several countries across the world have their own tales of insecurity, and the problem was not peculiar to Nigeria.
“This meeting here helps us to express what we have in Nigeria. We are not creating the experiences we should create. Forget the security challenge in Nigeria, every country has security issues.
“Don’t allow the problem of insecurity discourage you from promoting Nigeria.
“And in marketing our dear nation, you should think of promoting experiences. Tourists can come to Nigeria to look at our climate. That is an experience.
“We have beautiful beaches with mangroves. Why are we not selling these things? We should stop complaining about government and create experiences ourselves to attract tourists.
“We have experiences you can package for tourists from the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs), in which there are communities with stories and traditions to be packaged as tours,” the Minister said.
Among those present include the First Lady of Kwara State, Prof. Folake Abdulrazaq, Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria, The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, Dr Kabir, VP of the North West Zone Council, Mrs Badaki, Deputy President of FTAN, and Mrs Lola Ade-john, Honourable Minister of Tourism.
Additional individuals include Stella Fubara, the Managing Director of Del-York Development Company, His Royal Highness, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Wale Ojo Lanre, and the Director General of the Ekiti Tourism Bureau.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
