Tour business in Nigeria and Nigerian tourism in general is set to witness a new move, with the newly elected national executive council of Nigeria Tour Operators (NATOP) led by its new President, Ime Udo, pledging a new dawn for tour promotion and tourism in Nigeria, as its seeks to galvinise its members and other operators towards the singular agenda of promoting Nigeria to Nigerians as a destination of choice.

After four years of inactivity and near extinction; except for its 2020 Annual General Meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Board of Trustees of NATOP led by its Chairman, Nkereuwem Onung, who is also the president of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), last week in a last ditch effort to revive the once vibrant and focused looking association, succeeded in organising this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Tourism Conference for the fledging body. It was a two-day gathering held between July 26 and 27 at all Seasons Hotel, Owerri, Imo State capital, with the Imo State Ministry of Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture as co-host while the Commissioner for Tourism, Dr. Uche Ohia, was chief host and guest speaker at the event. One of the highlights of the event was a tour of Owerri organised by the ministry, with the director of tourism, as the tour guide.

Udo, who until his emergence as the president, was the deputy president of NATOP, described the tour as an exciting and fulfilling experience that exposed them to the different offerings available in Owerri, a city that is fast assuming the status of Nigeria’s hospitality hub. She commended the people for their devotion to tourism infrastructure development as she noted that; ‘‘The people are poised to promote tourism but need a round peg in a round hole to galvinise their vision and put the industry on the path of development and growth.’’ The tourism conference theme was on; Reinventing Tourism in Nigeria; a roundtable discussion was held with a panel made of the members of the association, these were; Mike Balogun, Joy Oziegbo, Bolaji Mustapha, and Anago Osho, with Ikechi Uko as the moderator of the panel.

The conference afforded the members the opportunity to have a hearty and frank discussion on Nigerian tourism and tour operator business, as they dissected some of the issues, prospects and challenges of tour business in Nigeria. Aside sharing their experiences on both outbound and inbound tour packages, they resolved to forge unity and commit to promoting domestic tourism, map out strategies for tourism promotion and broaden their perspectives and plans for tourism and improve their businesses. Why the need to engage with the government, with a view to letting it see its role and get actively involved in performing this role in order to put Nigerian tourism on the global map was also canvassed; A commitment that hopefully the newly elected executive council will rally its forces at achieving.

The new executive council of the association consist; Ime Udo – president; Bolaji Mustapha – deputy president; Olubunmi Balqees – secretary; Odion Chigbufue – treasurer; Cordis Maria Umeokoli – public relations officer; Anago Osho – assistant secretary; Amos – financial secretary; Cecile Mambo – vice president – Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja; Michael Balogun – vice president – South West; Helen Arinze Odumodu – vice president – South East; and Bilkisu Abdul – ex-officio member. While the members of the Board of Trustees are; Nkereuwem Onung – chairman; Ikechi Uko; and Mrs. Uloma Egbuna.

The new president, Udo, described her call to duty as a privilege; ‘‘it is a privilege to serve,’’ while pledging commitment to a new NATOP that will make the difference in lifting the association and Nigerian tourism to a new height. ‘‘It is going to be a different NATOP, made of tour operators that fired up as we have come back from our AGM with a lot of fire, resolve and commitment, as well as with a lot of passion and we are going to run with this passion as we are going to make a lot of difference,’’ she said with enthusiasm. Adding that: ‘‘There is just so much that we can do together as we are going to hit the ground running.’’ This is hoping that this resolve and burning fire will not be extinguished in the coming days as it has become the tradition of the association to easily go under days after a new leadership emerges as seen in the last four years.

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