By Frank Meke.
Tourism Minister, Mrs lola Ade John says Nigeria is trying to make an appearance in 2024 World Travel Market ( WTM) but blames a lack of funds for making the arrangements unexciting
Reacting to my observations over a flyer bearing the signature of a strange third party as coordinators of the Nigerian participation as against extant regulatory ecosystem empowering Nigerian Tourism Development Authority ( NTDA) to be in lead of any federal government participation in both local and international tourism exhibitions, the minister admitted that the coordinators has no business signing such sensitive promotional and marketing digital material and promised to correct the oversight.
” Frank, until you drew my attention to it , honestly, I didn’t see that, and I think we must avoid such mistakes because Nigeria is a big country, and we must therefore watch out for issues which you raised which may give a wrong impression or could be misapplied by certain interests outside those we had discussions with. We must learn from what happened between a state in Nigeria and a foreign country, even though we won’t say we don’t know this organisation, but they can’t sign off our tourism promotional flyer”
Throwing more light on the digital flyer, the minister disclosed that the said private organisation, which by its name , West Africa Tourism Organisation ( WATO) , which purportedly claimed to champion the tourism marketing and promotion gains of of West coast states, which most practitioners in Nigeria holds with a pinch of salt, should not be a signatory to the material.
The flyer bore Wato logo with a certain email address owned allegedly by one hassanz @ WestAfricatourism.com and also co signed by Director International Tourism Relations and Cooperation @ Dihuakue yahoo. Com, and was endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Tourism and also the ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative economy. West Africa Tourism Organisation ( WATO) is the baby of one Ola wright, a Nigerian based in the United kingdom.
The minister explained in detail and noted . “.last year before i took ill, I endorsed them in principle to organise the event for me( Nigeria) but unfortunately the process fell flat on its face due to my health issues.
” we felt again we need talk to them ( wato) to help us at wtm this year just to show appreciation for our inability to make it out last year. They are just to guide us since I am quite new on the intricacies of participation at wtm. That is just our intention and nothing more than that.
On ntda, not taking effective lead to position Nigeria at the global tourism trade event, the minister appealed to side step the question but quiped in” I am a widow and there many things I am trying to understand in this assignment. I came from the private sector, and there are certain metrics that I am used to, so I move ahead and above things I don’t understand.
Sharing her pains on the seat as minister, she wondered why she was misunderstood even when she meant well. Her agony was palpable over the phone . ” Frank, I hold you in high esteem because of your hard work in this sector. I may not enjoy your knocks, but I believe you deserve to at least hear directly from me. When the last time, the leadership of the National of Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies ( Nanta) visited me here to offer hands of fellowship and support, I was literally torn apart by a section of the industry which accused me of supporting nanta on their quest to promote Nigeria at wtm “.
Speaking further, the minister noted that the issues left a very bitter taste in her mouth, wondering what those offended by nanta visit to pledge support, wanted her to say.
” They( Nanta) told me that they are going to wtm for third time at their own cost and sacrifices and I was happy about it and commended their patriotic initiative, so is that a crime from a Minister of Tourism? We don’t have money, and for wtm this year, we have about a budget of five million naira for crying out loud, and what can that do for a big country like Nigeria?
On possible preparations for World Tourism Day, celebrations slated for September 27th , the minister disclosed that paucity of funds would affect any elaborate plans for the celebrations but assured that the ministry, will organise” something small” but symbolic that day.
” we are discussing it at the Ministry, but our problem is fund. We need our friends to help us move Nigerian tourism forward, and by next year, we will adequately prepare an acceptable budget plan for tourism promotion and development for Nigeria.
