By Andrew Iro Okungbowa 
With the adverse effect of COVID -19 pandemic on global tourism, which saw a lull in tourism activities, with global tourism posting one of its worse results in recent time, one major development that signposted 2021 was the theme of tourism recovery, with the concerted efforts across the world for destinations to lift the bans and restrictions placed on travels which saw the shutdown of many destinations in 2020.
UNWTO: Lead campaigner for tourism recovery
On the global level, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) led the fight for tourism recovery as its took advantage of every opportunity that came it way to campaign for tourism recovery especially in organising major events and partnering with various organsations and governments to drive home the message.
Amidst this global campaign, the organisation succeeded in hosting a number of its annual events in different parts of the world.
One of the major events was the celebration of the World Tourism Day (WTD), an annual event to mark the importance of tourism, with the theme; Tourism for inclusive growth.
Another milestone event held by it was its general assembly, which was initially scheduled for Morocco but later moved to Madrid, Spain. Held between December 1 and 3, a major highlight of the general assembly was the re-election of its General Secretary, Zurab Pololikashvili, for a second term, spanning 2022 – 2025.
Also, his programme framework also received the gathering of the general assembly, which is the highest body of the global tourism body. In Nigeria, tourism recovery also gained a level of traction in the year under review, with a number of tourism related activities that were put on hold between 2019 and 2020 organised to the excitement and benefits of the operators and the sector as it is on record that a number of businesses that where hitherto shut and on the verge of collapse got back on the scene.
Ministry of Information and Culture: Absentee supervisor of tourism
For many of the operators and watchers of activities within the Nigerian tourism sector, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture headed by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, remained largely an absentee entity as the supervisory ministry of tourism in Nigeria.
Just like in previous years, the ministry either initiated any notable activity or policy in the sector the despite the fact of the government’s claim of tourism as one of its top priorities to stimulate the economy.
The government and the minister have continued to show their lack of understanding of how tourism works and the best way to take advantage of it to better the lot of the country as other countries across the world have done.
Not even the promised palliatives for the sector by the minister has been implemented a year after the committee empowered by him to make recommendations have done so.
Rather the minister is more interested in the glitz of the office and attending all UNWTO, arts and culture related meetings outside the country while missing out on the domestic scene.
Perhaps the only activity in the year that the minister attended was the World Tourism Day (WTD) celebration hosted by the ministry in conjunction with the Kebbi State government in Birnin Kebbi. Many observers say the only reason the minister attended the event was because he was conferred with a chieftaincy title as the Kakakin Kebbi by Argugun Emirate during the event.
NTDC: Gaining traction quietly
For the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), which is the government apex body for the development and marketing of Nigerian tourism, the out-gone year got to a good start with the re-appointment of its Director General, Folorunsho Coker, for a second term following the expiration of his first tenure in office early in the year.
Going by the markers Coker set out for 2021, the body recorded a number of successes with its activities, as he went about it quietly and in a strategetic manner to ensure the desired outcome.
These included the promotion of domestic tourism, which the DG said was his major trust of his work, following a number of campaigns and activities about it especially with its Tour Nigeria promotional campaign.
One of the major achievements of the corporation was the re-admission of NTDC into UNWTO as its affiliate member after so many years of Nigeria unceremoniously taking itself out of the global tourism body. Coker attended the Madrid general assembly where NTDC was formally welcomed back to the global fold by Pololikashvili. Other areas of note include:
The renovation of its office complex and transforming it into a befiting working environment; improvement of the welfare of the workers and relationship between it and the union; Extension of its departments from five to eleven for effective management; Hosting of zonal stakeholders meetings in South – South, North Central and South East while those of South West, North East and North West are scheduled for 2022; Digitalisation of its processes; and Acquisition of new technologies for marketing and promotion of tourism.
Others are: Digilisation of its head office operations and zonal offices; Engagement with the National Assembly on reworking of NTDC bill; Rated highly in ICPC ethics and integrity compliance score card and scoring as high as 82% and coming overall 11th position among MDAs.
NIHOTOUR: On a roller coastal
The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), for many observers and watchers, was a revelation in the out-gone year.
The once sleeping giant in a manner of speaking suddenly came alive following the appointment of Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa as the new director general of the training institute. From day one,
Kangiwa, who has been a part of the sector having had a stint at both NTDC and the defunct Ministry of Tourism and Culture, stepped on the pedal and became a revelation, transforming the lowly rated training institute to a highly rated and visible one.
The revolution included renewing a number of the moribund programmes of the institute, introducing new ones, signing partnership deals with different organisations, visiting the state campuses of the institute, with a promise to transform them and bring them to the standard expected and getting some of the state governments to build and handle over hospitality schools to the institute such as that by Benue State government.
It is expected that in the New Year Kangiwa will consolidate on the achievements of 2021 and open new frontiers for the institute and human capacity building for tourism sector.
Hospitality and Tourism Sector Skills Council of Nigeria (HTSSCN) on high gear
Hospitality and Tourism Sector Skills Council of Nigeria (HTSSCN) affiliated to the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism in the out-gone year witnessed accelerated activities with one of the major highlights being the inauguration of its board of trustees chaired by Alhaji Tijani Aliyu, who is the DG of Kano Chamber of Commerce.
The council was also incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); Other achievements include: Signing MoU to deliver N-Power -build skills empowerment training programme in hospitality trade; MoU with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Services (National Social Insurance Scheme) and Hospitality and Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN), NSQ awarding body, to deliver N-Power -build skills empowerment training programme in NSQ qualifications in hospitality trade.
Partnership with NIHOTOUR and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to undertake baseline studies on sector labour market intelligence; Participated in the review and critique of National Occupational Standards (NOSs) organised by NBTE and 2021 NBTE Centre of Excellence hosted review and critique of the NSQ Hospitality, Travel and Tourism sector NOSs; as well as in NBTE hosted National Sector Skills Council Forums for various trade sectors’ coordinating stakeholders.
Lagos State outshines others
Across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture under Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, stood out in terms of policies initiation and implementation, activities and support for the sector by striking mutually benefiting partnership with the private sector.
One of the key areas the state made impact was in the public presentation of its master plan on tourism, arts and culture, a document, which has been in the works for some years but finalised and presented to the public for implementation in the out-gone year.
The state also carried out a far reaching upgrade of its major tourist assets and partnered with the private sector to initiate and execute a number of programmes including training while in December last year the state unfolded plan to introduce tour buses and ferries that are expected to become fully operational in the first quarter of 2022.
Sterling Bank Plc: Lending financial support
Funding has continued to remain one of the main challenges for the sector, however, 2021 witnessed a breath of fresh air, with Sterling Bank Plc taking the initiative by dedicating a department to tourism and instituting a N5 billion fund for the sector.
It is on record that a number of stakeholders from Ekiti and other states including Lagos State have benefitted for this loan initiative which was instituted to fund tourism businesses and infrastructure development.
The bank has in addition to this announced plans to offer loan to tour operators to purchase tour buses and fund vacations by tourists through tour operators under a special vehicle to be created by it.
Private sector: Came to the rescue
Operators in the private sector remained the guiding light and hope of the sector as they continued where they let off in 2020, generating a number of notable activities and motions that ensured that the sector got some level of visibility.
The domestic scene received a boost with increased tour packages by a number of the tour operators who were not deterred by the security and other challenges especially those imposed by COVID-19.
The south west region in particular enjoyed a buzz of some sorts as it recorded improved tour activities across some of its noted destinations.
Tourism related activities and celebrations also got under way, with Abuja Jabamah kick starting the avalanche of gatherings that included the hosting of South – South Youth Summit by Youth Tourism Development Organisation (YTDO) Nigeria, the 4th edition of the National Tourism Transportation Summit and Exhibition and National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) Prominent Persons Awards and institution of NANTA Media Hall of Fame.
Others are Nigeria Travel Week, Akwaaba African Travel Market, International Conference by the Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN), Conference and Annual General Meeting of Nigeria Hotel and Catering Association (NHCI) as well as the Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), which saw the election of Mr. Nkwereuwem Onung, as the president of the umbrella body for private sector operators in tourism.
National Council for Arts and Culture: Kept hope alive
The National Council for Arts and Culture under its Director General, Otunba Segun Runsewe, who got his appointment renewed for a second term never let off steam as it kept hope of a viable cultural tourism scene alive with the promotion of its many activities during the year. It two top rated annual events for the year were staged as plan.
These were the International Arts and Culture Expo (INAC), which was staged with fanfare in Abuja and the National Arts Festival hosted by Ekiti State government in Ado Ekiti, with over 20 states from across the federation in attendance alongside others. It was a colourful and celebratory event to behold. Endnote Globally, tourism was on the back heels in 2021 following the adverse effect of COVID-19, which has had its tow on the sector.
It should be noted that this led to a poor harvest in the sector as many destinations struggled to restart their businesses and matter was not helped in the last two months of the year with the discovery of new COVID-19 Omicron variant that posed new threat to the fragile sector.
While many serious minded tourism nations did the best they could to keep their destinations alive and running, the situation however, in most countries which placed little importance on the sector was different as they just flowed with the current not knowing what to do.
Nigeria, of course, belonged to such category as the government watched hands akimbo not knowing what to do to rescue the sector while the private sector were left alone to bear the brunt and do whatever they could to salvage the situation and their fledging businesses.
One of the lessons from the out-gone year as re-echoed by a number of the operators, is the need for the government to create a stand alone ministry for tourism at the federal level while the state governments also do same, with the full executive power to discharge their responsibilities of developing and promoting tourism.
Not until this is done, tourism will continue to suffer the fate of an orphan, with no one at the government level to make a case for it as the supervisory minister of tourism, Lai Mohammed, has shown in the last six years, as he has shown that he care less about tourism but more interested as functioning as the megaphone of the federal government regardless.
Lagos State is the only state in the country among the few states with ministry of tourism that has shown the benefit of having a stand alone ministry for tourism.
Not just only that but having a commissioner who understands clearly what his/her mandate is and the need of the sector and is able to rally both the private and public sectors towards realising this single – minded mandate as the Lagos State Tourism Commissioner, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusufu and her team has displayed in the last two years.
