Amb. Wale Ojo-Lanre, Director General, Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development, has called for the formulation of a robust national tourism policy to adequately drive the sector for increased
By Joshua Olomu
Amb. Wale Ojo-Lanre, Director General, Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development, has called for the formulation of a robust national tourism policy to adequately drive the sector for increased contribution to national economy.
He made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline at the just concluded annual National Tourism Transportation Summit in Abuja.
The 2024 summit, with the theme “Tourism Transportation Connectivity: Accelerating the Synergy for National Economic Development”, brought together stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.
According to Ojo-Lanre, as Nigeria seeks to diversify its economic mainstay from oil, its rich tourism potential is a veritable alternative, if properly harnessed.
He said the absence of workable legal framework in form of national tourism policy was a major drawback to the sector, and therefore urged the federal government to expedite action toward providing such a framework.
The DG said such a crucial document would serve as roadmap for stakeholders at all levels toward harnessing the vast potential of Nigeria’s tourism industry and align it with global standards and best practices.
“Nigeria must develop a solid tourism policy, and without a tourism policy, whatever we do will just be meeting in the dark.
“The first thing you have to do is have a tourism policy, and then you develop a workable, sustainable tourism development plan.
“This will bring all states on board, so, these are steps we must take to show that we are serious to develop our tourism.
“I know about Ekiti state, because our Governor is very passionate about tourism,” he said.
He added that a robust policy document would ensure sustainable tourism, community engagement, diversification of tourism products, create jobs and promote Nigeria’s rich culture.
Ojo-Lanre, who bagged the ‘Long Service in Nigeria Tourism Development and Promotion Award’ at the summit, faulted the recent decision of the federal government to subsume the ministry of tourism into that of arts and culture.
He said there was need for the federal government to rethink the scrapping of the ministry of tourism if the sector would witness speedy growth.
“We agitated for the creation of a stand-alone ministry for tourism, and I even approached the eight Senate.
“But while we were happy with its creation by the federal government, it was later scrapped,” he said.(NAN)(nannews.ng)
