The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) has trained and certified 20 tourism officers from six states of the federation. The training was one of the major highlights of this year’s Nigeria Tourism Investors Forum and Exhibition (NTIFE 2024) organised annually by the federation. The training was an epoch-making event for the federation as this was the first time in the seven-year- existence of the forum that it would take the bold step of training and certifying tourism officers from local and state governments alongside private sector operators in the industry.

Abia, Lagos, Bayelsa, Imo, and Kano states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, were the states that took advantage of the opportunity to train their tourism officers. The training sessions were handled by resource persons from the Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN) and the Institute of Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN).

President of FTAN, Nkereuwem Onung noted that the training was informed by the need to; ‘‘recognize the pivotal role that tourism officers play in implementing tourism policies and programmes across the federation. ‘‘This initiative is not just a response to current needs but a proactive step towards building a professional, efficient, and innovative tourism workforce.’’ During the certificates presentation ceremony, Onung congratulated the participants for successfully undergoing the training sessions, noting that it is a historic feat being the first set of students to under- take the training during NTIFE 2024. He encouraged them to utilise the knowledge acquired at the training in their various offices and assignments.

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