The Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe has said his arms are wide open to support moves aimed at revamping tourism economy for the nation.
Otunba Runsewe made this known in his office while playing host to the newly elected executives of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) who paid him a courtesy visit.
The Director General who congratulated the newly elected executive on their victory expressed delight over the visit which according him will cement the already existing relationship between the NCAC and NATOP.
Addressing the gathering, Runsewe stated that one of the ways a Tour Operator breaks even is to establish partnership with tour operators in other parts of the world to aid their operations in tour packaging with good cultural content that will make a difference.
He said NATOP has the capacity of improving the country’s Gross Domectic Product through Tourism Economy but decried the situation where the dream of the association has not been fully brought to fruition owing to the low level of marketing of our cultural content.
“Our culture is very rich. It is therefore your responsibility to package and market our rich cultural heritage and make it more attractive to the world” Runsewe added.
The Director General revealed that owing to the important role NATOP plays in marketing the good cultural potentials of Nigeria, Tour Operators will be given a special platform during this year’s National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) holding in Lagos next month to enhance it’s activities.
Speaking earlier, the newly elected President of the association, Mrs Ime Udoh said they were in the culture headquarters to introduce the new executive of the association and thank Otunba Runsewe for his immense contributions to the development of the Culture and Tourism sector and to tap from his wealth of experience.
She stated that as the umbrella body of all tour operators in the country, the onus is on the association to market the country and the best tourist sites in the world given all it’s God given potentials.
According to her, the task of fulfilling the association’s mandate is enormous ,nothing ” we want to leverage on the Council to succeed. We are here to synergize and collaborate with the NCAC to portray our country as the best tourist destination in the world by selling rich culture and heritage and transform the sector to be the oil that should drive the economy.” she explained.
She expressed the association’s readiness to partner with Council and tap from the window created by INAC Expo and NAFEST; Council’s major programmes to create jobs and alleviate poverty among Nigerians.
