New FTAN Pays Courtesy Call On Tourism Minister

By Lucky Onoriode George [ Abuja]

The newly elected executives of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria [FTAN], has paid a courtesy call on Senator Bello Jibril Gada, Honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation.

The visit came barely two weeks after the body successfully held its long overdue Annual General Meeting [AGM] in a bid to chart a new course for the tourism private sector body.

Receiving the team, the honourable minister expressed his willingness to work closely with the federation and challenged it to do all within its ability in ensuring that tourism takes its proper position in the country.

Responding, the president of FTAN, Mr. Samuel O.Alabi, assured the minister of FTAN willingness to work closely with the ministry and its agencies in ensuring that tourism achieve all its intended as spelt out in the various government policies and agendas.

Acquainting the minister with the size and scope of FTAN, Mr. Alabi said in his speech that ‘ FTAN is the umbrella body for the tourism private sector bringing together all associations representing the various sub-sectors of the travel, hospitality and other related industries such as Nigeria Hotel Associations [NHA], National Association of the Nigeria Travel Agency [NANTA], National Association of Tour Operators [NATOP] among others’.

According to him, the aforementioned that formed the larger tourism industry in Nigeria, was initiated by the urgent need to bring together under one roof all associations representing the various sub-sector of the tourism industry similar to the role played by NACIMMA and MAN in the commerce and manufacturing sectors, or the Tourism Business Council of South Africa [TBCSA], the Ghana Tourism Federation [GTF] and other similar apex private sector tourism federations in other countries, he said.

Going down memory lane, the new FTAN president traced government efforts, noting that since the new democratic dispensation in 1999, attempts have been made to make tourism preferred sector with the creation of a full fledge minister which is a rally point today for the entire tourism and culture sectors as well as the Presidential Committee on Tourism [PCT] which was created in 2003, with FTAN having three of its members representing the organized private sector.

Assuring the minister of the tourism private sector supports, FTAN however requested the minister to ensure that its represented in the Vision 202020 Tourism Committee, resuscitate the Presidential Committee on Tourism [PCT], representations on the boards of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation [NTDC] and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Study [NIHOTOUR] and representation on the National Tourism Master Plan Implementation Committee.

Other requests made by FTAN are, launch the Tourism Development Fund [TDF] to fast track the development of the sector, ensure capacity building through professionalizing of the sector under the federation as well as spearheading marketing and promotion of Nigeria as a destination with relevant government agency, i.e. NTDC as stipulated in the Tourism Master Plan.

Sumarising his speech, FTAN president noted that the United Nations Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] has poverty alleviation as one of its goals, which inspired many governments around the globe to take more interests in tourism, in the footsteps of the United Nations World Tourism Organization [UNWTO], initiated Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty [STEP], programme, closely linked to the UN MDGs, that is designed to contribute to the economic empowerment of poor people, especially in the developing countries through tourism and that Nigeria must follow too.

Presently, FTAN has 12 registered associations as full members; namely; Nigerian Association of Tour operators [NATOP], National Association of Nigeria Travel Agents [NANTA], Association of Nigerian Tourism Journalists and Writers of Tourism [ANJET], Nigeria Hotel Association [NHA], Association of Tourism practitioners of Nigeria [ATPN] and Nigerian Hotel and Catering Institute [NHCI].

Others are, Africa Travel Association [ATA], Nigerian Youth Tourism Organisation [NYTO], Hospitality Personnel services Employees Associations [HOPSEA], Hotel Owners Forum of Abuja [HOFA], Travel and Tourism Lawyers Association [TATLAN] and Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria [HATMAN].