The Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr Folorunsho Coker, has solicited Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to build infrastructure for the growth of tourism in Nigeria.
Coker said on Sunday in Abuja, that partnership would help in reviving moribund tourism assets and boosting the nation’s economy.
“There is need for public private sector partnership to revive moribund tourism assets.
“For example, the Ikogosi Warm Spring in Ekiti is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between a private sector operator and the Ekiti State Government.
“The era of government funding of project 100 per cent is probably gone.
“This is the era of PPP for domestic tourism, to create a conducive environment for the creative industry.
“Our creativity needs a home like the London theatre.
“Government and the private sector need to build a home and release it to the creative industry to fly. We need to give our creativity infrastructure to grow,” the NTDC boss said.
He lauded the ongoing facelift of the National Theatre Lagos by the Bankers Committee, the private sector and government.
According to him, this will assist in boosting domestic tourism because artistes and other relevant stakeholders will prefer to make their production here in Nigeria rather than go abroad.
Coker also called on organisers of Nigerian cultural festivals to adopt best practices while organising cultural festivals .
“Every festival must have a commercial entity by allowing people who are local to that festival to make some monies.
“This will help in strengthening people participation and boost their morale to ensure the success of the festival,” he said.
The director-general said that the corporation engaged stakeholders to sensitise them on technology and ways of conducting tourism business.
“The Tourism Stakeholders Interactive Forum in the South East was titled: “Use of Digital Technology to Revamp Hospitality and Tourism amid COVID-19.
“During COVID-19, everybody had moved to digital transactions. It has now become important to advertise on social media platforms where people see what you offer.
“It is cheap and has greater penetration and greater reach than traditional means of advertising. Use of technology is very important in advertising goods and services,” he said.
Coker said that the NTDC had held the forum in North Central, South-South and South East, adding that the upcoming forum will hold in the North East, South West and North West of the country in 2022.
According to him, the NTDC is pushing for government to change the law of tourism and ways of running hospitality and tourist establishments by the owners.
“We tell owners of tourism assets that training is imperative to deliver tourism requirements.
”We made trainers realise that six months vocational training is enough for people to deliver required tourism services,” he said.
