Tourism Ministers discuss collaboration between tourism and security

Ministers of Tourism and High Level officials from 86 countries gathered in Madrid to discuss the development of closer collaboration mechanisms between tourism and security administrations to ensure a safe, secure and seamless travel framework (Madrid, 22 January 2016)

The meeting stressed the global nature of security challenges and the need to create global solutions while enhancing the collective support to countries affected.

Participants called for the integration of tourism in international and national emergency systems and highlighted the role of public-private sector cooperation, as well as the importance of strong communications and media partnerships.

“The role of tourism is still underestimated and the integration of travel and tourism into national emergency structures and procedures often happens only after a major incident has taken place. Today we are here to discuss how security issues are impacting our sector and what can be done to ensure we continue to advance towards safe, secure and seamless travel.” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai

“Only by working together can we increase the resiliency of the tourism sector, reduce the risk of damage and loss, and accelerate recovery – and ultimately ensure the sustained growth of our sector and its contribution to economic growth, job creation and development”, he added.

“This meeting addresses a critical question facing us today – namely, how can we harness and expand the benefits of tourism, while safeguarding our societies?“ said Mr Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who also highlighted the need for public-private sector cooperation. “While destinations are under pressure to ensure tourist safety and security, it is essential that both inbound and outbound States cooperate and put the necessary measures in place to ensure the safety of travelers, including the strengthening public-private partnerships”.

Ignacio Ibañez, Secretary of State for Cooperation of Spain, highlighted the role of tourism as an economic driver and a tool for development but also as an instrument of better understanding among cultures. “Tourism builds understanding between people of different cultures and is thus a factor driving security at the global level” he said.

At the meeting, the Minister of Tourism of El Salvador, Napoleon Duarte, shared a new initiative of the Ministers of Central America and the Dominican Republic, supported by UNWTO and UNODC, that will create a regional taskforce to engage tourism stakeholders and security forces.

http://atqnews.com/ng/2016/01/30/tourism-ministers-discuss-collaboration-tourism-security/

Rwandair to start flights to Mumbai, India

RewandAir, the national carrier for Rwanda, will start direct flights from Rwanda into Mumbai effective September 2016. Clarence Fernandes, India representative, Rwanda Development Board, which also promotes tourism, reveales, “RwandAir will be coming in with four weekly flights from Mumbai to Dar-e-salaam and Dar-e-salaam to Kigali on A-330 with first, business and economy class.

They will initially come in with 244 seats and as the demand increases the airline will scale up to 274 seats. This will be the shortest route, connecting Mumbai and Kigali. Dar-e-Salaam has a large Indian population so it was most practical to do a stop-over here.”

http://atqnews.com/ng/2016/01/30/rwandair-to-start-flights-to-mumbai-india/

South Africa Airways starts Abuja-Johannesburg flight

The South Africa Airways (SAA) commenced direct flight from Abuja to Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday. The airline said the inaugural flight is part of measures to boost bilateral relationship between Nigeria and South Africa.

Regional General Manager-Africa and Middle East Aaron Munetsi and the Country Manager-Nigeria Thobi Duma said that it has always been the dream of SAA to ensure the air travel in the continent hence it sustained efforts since it began operation in Nigeria in 1998 in Lagos as the then Federal Capital of the country.

The flight will be on simultaneous to and fro operation and would be on three times weekly for a start.

South Africa High Commissioner to Nigeria Ambassador Lulu Louis Mnguni during the formal launch in November 2015 in Abuja said the flight will among others engender the tourism relationship between Nigeria and his country and that more Nigerians are expected to visit South Africa and vice versa.

Ambode: Gov. plans to boost internal revenue with tourism tools

 He said that there were plans to replicate such amusement parks in some other Local Government Areas of the State.  The Lagos State Government on Saturday said that it would utilise the opportunities in the tourism sector to boost its Internal revenue.

        The Gov. of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, said this at the official inauguration of the redeveloped Apapa Amusement Park in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 40- year- old Amusement Park was shut down on March 17, 2012 by the state government for upgrading. Ambode, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Arts and Culture, Mrs Adebimpe Akinsola, said that the park was now opened to the public. He said that there were plans to replicate such amusement parks in some other Local Government Areas of the State. 

“Our plan is to see that we generate good income from the parks for Lagosians and visitors to enjoy themselves.

“ The park provides picture-perfect moments and memories that last a lifetime; also an ideal place for family fun,’’ he said.

Mrs Olufunmilayo Balogun, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, commended Ambode for reopening the amusement park. “ The park will help to reposition the face of tourism in the state,’’ she said.

How Nigeria can reap from tourism like South Africa – South African tourist manager

 

Hloni Pitso, the Regional Manager for West Africa, South African Tourism, has said the country recorded 84,000 arrivals from Nigeria as at the end of 2014.Pitso told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Saturday that arrivals from Nigeria had doubled since 2010 when it recorded about 45,000 arrivals from the country. He said South Africa had targeted and identified 40 markets globally, including Nigeria, to enable it promote and increase arrival from those specific countries.
According to him, the first office that South Africa Tourism launched outside the country was in Lagos, with huge investment because of the potential it realised in the country.

Specialist wants FG to embark on destination branding of tourist centres

      A brand specialist, Mr Ken Ebbi, has advised the Federal Government to brand various tourist centres across the country to enhance tourism development and boost the country’s internally generated revenue.
Ebbi told news men in Lagos on Monday that such branding would make it easy for foreign tourists to locate the sites in the country. “It will also increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings, create employment and alleviate poverty. “Nigeria, with the world at her feet as a tourism destination spot, has the potentials of earning well over N90 billion annually, if well harnessed, “ he said.

DESTINATION OF THE DAY: LUFASI (Lekki Urban Forest and Animal Sanctuary Initiative) PARK

The Lekki Urban Forest and Animal Sanctuary Initiative (LUFASI), is an urban forest park that sits on 25 hectares of land on the Lekki – Epe express way. This area is a little patch of pristine coastal rain forest that had been protected Since the Lekki Peninsula development started 25 years ago. It still contains some last remaining stands of the highly endangered Ekki “Iron wood” tree and the threatened hooded vulture and great hornbill

LUFASI is a great nature park, a relaxation centre with a fully equipped play park and football pitches, and an animal sanctuary. It also serves to educate the public on environment friendly practices and is a training centre for young Nigerian veterinary doctors. LUFASI is an NGO and works in partnership with Lagos State Government to create this unique eco-friendly recreation centre. LUFASI is just minutes east from the second toll gate on the Lekki- expressway after Ajah.

TOP 5 DESTINATIONS TO VISIT IN CROSS RIVER STATE

Cross River State in Nigeria boasts of one of the fascinating tourist centres in the country, and it is a great place to go for your next family vacation and also a place to retire due to the friendliness of the local people and the natural vistas of the state.


Cross River State was created out of the old South Eastern State of Nigeria in 1976 and Akwa Ibom State was carved out of the state in 1987. With a population of 2.89 million according to a 2009 estimate, Cross River State covers a total of 20,156 sq km land area, and bordered to the west by Abia States, to be east by Cameron, to the south by Akwa Ibom and the Atlantic Ocean. The state is divided into eighteen local government areas which include Abi, Akamkpa, Akpabuyo, Bekwara, Biase, Boki, Calabar Municipal, Calabar-South, Etung, Ikom, Obanliku, Obubra, Obudu, Odukpani, Ogoja, Ugep-north, Yakurr, and Yala.


While there are hundreds of places to go in the state, the following are the top five destinations in Cross River State:


i. Obudu Mountain Resort



Located on Nigeria’s southeastern frontier, the Cross River landscape descends precipitously from the Oban Obudu rugged foothills (1000 2000m) of the Cameroun Mountains on the east, into the Cross River Plains (30m) to the west, and down to the Bight of Bonny coastal plains to the south, Coastal mangrove wetlands interlaced with creeks, virgin rainforest on the Oban Obudu hills, Montane parkland on the Obudu Plateau, and derived Savannah on the Cross River Plain, are all parts of the Cross River State vegetation and scenery.

5 Ways to Enhance Tourism in Africa

Africa travel industry should encourage visiting families to share their African stories with the rest of the world.
Whilst tourism continues to be one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic sectors of Africa’s economy, according to the Africa Tourism Monitor 2015, it is not without challenges.In Africa, tourism contributes to the region’s economy through provision of jobs to thousands of people, thus enhancing regional economic growth and reduction of poverty. Produced by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in partnership with New York University Africa House, and the Africa Travel Association (ATA), the report applauds the efforts made to sustain the growth of tourism witnessed in 2014. However, the report recognizes that “sustained research and data generation to create the necessary knowledge base for effective decision making, policy formulation, and implementation in support of tourism” is important for economic growth and development. With this in mind, the “Unlocking Africa’s Tourism Potential” report has put forward a few considerations, if well implemented, can see a change in the growth curve for the sector.

Tourism is not supposed to be under culture and information because tourism is the generator of revenue and employment in this country. So, Tourism needs greater attention

Alabi Mike Amachree

TOURISM, all over the world, is regarded as a key economic activity to generate income for a country. It is a source of employment and in most cases, proceeds from tourism goes directly to the host community where the tourism activity takes place. That is why tourism is seen as a veritable tool for poverty alleviation and creation of wealth. The huge labour needs of different sub-sectors of the tourism industry, most especially the hospitality industry, has made the industry a key source for job creation. The least number of staff a hotel with10 rooms will employ is 10.
   The World Travel and Tourism Council, the world’s leading private sector tourism organization, in its report on 2015 that covers 184 countries and 25 regions of the world said travel and tourism generated US$7.6 trillion (10 per cent of global GDP) and 277 million jobs (1 in 11 jobs) for the global economy in 2014. Recent years have seen travel and tourism growing at a faster rate than both the wider economy and other significant sectors such as automotive, financial services and health care. According the report, 2014 was no exception. International tourist arrivals also surged, reaching nearly 1.14billion and visitor spending more than matched that growth. Visitors from emerging economies now represent a 46 per cent share of these international arrivals (up from 38 per cent in 2000), proving the growth and increased opportunities for travel from those in these new markets.
However, this growth in global tourism is not reflected in fortune of tourism in Nigeria. Today, tourism sector has been subsumed under the Ministry of Information and Culture. One way forward for tourism in Nigeria in 2016, according to the former president of the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN) and proprietor of Brooklyn Group of Hotels, Alabo Mike Amachree was for the President Buhari-led government to take a second look at the decision and reverse it. This, he said, was in the light of the importance of tourism in any economy, more especially at this period that the price of oil has fallen and the country is exploring other sources of income.
He said: “I am not really bothered about pushing the Ministry to Information, but what I am saying is that tourism was not mentioned. They just pushed culture to merge with information and tourism is now under culture. Mind you, if you build an industry and you are producing products. If those products are not marketed, the industry will close down because they have to be marketed for people to patronize them. “ If you say you only recognize culture, mind you, culture does not exist on its own. It can only be for entertainment. Cultural products can only be for entertainment. They are not capable of generating income without going through tourism.

GOD MANDATED ME TO RE-POSITION YORUBA RACE FOR GREATNESS – OONI

The Ooni of Ife,Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has said that he has been mandated by God to properly position Yoruba race for greatness while efforts must be geared towards uniting its people.
Receiving in his palace in Ile Ife yesterday the paramount ruler of Remo kingdom, Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo, who led royal fathers and eminent personalities including Chief Kessington Adebutu and Asiwaju of Remoland Chief S. Onafowokan, Oba Ogunwusi said he has God’s mandate to unite the race.
 Oba Ogunwusi said that his efforts in uniting Yoruba nation are already yielding positive results, adding that Yoruba will develop if united.
 The monarch said Yoruba people are the most favoured race on earth and  urged other traditional rulers in Yoruba land to join and support the unity campaign, maintaining that the unity of Yoruba race was needed for peace and development of the race.

Ooni Declares Ife Tourism Zone

A new dawn in the history of Ile Ife occasioned by the recent appointment of 40 years old Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja 11, as the Ooni of Ife, has continued to resonate with the Ooni set to declare Ife as a tourism zone in furtherance of his promise to foster peace and unity and bring economic prosperity to his people by opening up Ife to the world through tourism.
      The Ooni who is a business czar and owner of Inagbe Resort, one of the few privately run resorts located across Lagos waters, has from the first day of assumption of office not hidden his resolve to elevate the historical and abundant cultural wealth of his people and town by opening it to the world through massive investment in tourism related projects, which are aimed at transforming Ife from a mere tourism attraction to a mega tourism destination.
 To this end, the Kabiyesi, his newly appointed chief tourism adviser and consultant, Otunba Wale Akinboboye, who is the Founder of La Campagne and Motherland Beckons, disclosed that Oba Ojaja 11 is set to declare Ife a tourism zone on February 26 and to kick start the development of the zone into a tourism destination of world class standard has concluded plans to build a N7.6 billion Ife Grand Resort. Also in line with his resolve to foster peace and unity amongst his people, a major ingredient for sustainable tourism development, and put to rest the ghost of the over 200 years old conflict between Ife - Modakeke, the Ooni over the week brushed aside all protocols and barriers to attend the Modakeke Day celebration even as he announced the employment of 20, 000 widows from the over 40, 000 widows recorded in the last Ife - Modakeke crisis to work in the tourism zone project with a promise to absolve the remaining 20, 000 widows alongside the teeming population of unemployed as the project gathers traction.

Tourism, antidote to Nigeria’s dwindling economy – Benue state governor Ortom

Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has described the tourism sector as a panacea to the present economic meltdown Nigeria is currently experiencing.
To this end, the Benue government has signed a pact with National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism, NIHOTOUR, to propel rapid growth and development in the hospitality industry in the state. Ortom, during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, at the weekend in Abuja, pointed out that partnership between Benue and NIHOTOUR would develop, promote and add value to the state’s economy. He maintained that Nigeria needed to, as a matter of urgency, venture into other resources that would boost her ailing economy.

Nigeria Tourism Sector year 2015 in review

By Tunde Oguntola

       As the dawn breaks on 2016, a year pregnant with so many possibilities in the Nigeria tourism sector TUNDE OGUNTOLA takes a cursory look back at the activities of the sector which has very little achievement to show in the just concluded year For the Ministry of Information and Culture it is 17 years of existence so far, and is like one step forward, two steps backward. Since former President Olusegun Obasanjocreated it in 1999, the Ministry remains a weeping child swimming in waters filled with daunting challenges. Stakeholders in the tourism sector have canvassed for sustainable culture and tourism for economic growth. The tourism industry provides about 266 million direct and indirect jobs globally, hence most developed countries rely heavily on it for economic and manpower development.
     However, the industry is yet to realise its full potential in Nigeria due to the absence of domesticated tourism information management system meant to evaluate and monitor development in the sector, and inadequate tourism infrastructure. Setting agenda for the tourism sector in 2016, the President, Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Services, Mr Fadipe Ashamu has urged the federal government to promote the cultures of Nigeria, describing them as major drivers of the tourism and a catalyst for economic growth and job creation. Mr Ashamu in an interaction with journalists on the sideline of the recent workshop on ‘Mainstreaming Tourism into the Economic Agenda of Government’ in Abuja, said that oil revenue could no longer provide resources to meet the growing and competing demands of the nation, hence the need to explore tourism as an alternativesource of revenue for the government. But in spite of the sector daunting challenges, influences of modernisation and Western religions. Nigeria has one or the other that has refused to lose total relevance in tourism despite poor funding by the government.