Lagos – A hospitality entrepreneur, Mr Gabriel Ogunseye, has said that with the right management in place, the Nigerian hospitality industry can attract foreign investment.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday that customers including foreign visitors should be encouraged to patronise indigenous cuisines instead of foreign dishes.
Ogunseye, who is the Managing Partner of Gafor Continental Management Associates, further stressed the need for parents and guardians to encourage their wards to embrace indigenous cuisines more than the foreign ones.
“There are different ways of approach. You either employ qualified hoteliers to manage the hotel for you or you hire it out to operators who can operate it.
“Hotel business in this country can be very profitable, if well-managed.
“With the present (economic) situation in the country, I think we have to come back home to let even foreigners enjoy our cuisine, instead of going foreign in everything we do.
“Unfortunately, we even encourage our own children to be more interested in foreign cuisines instead of making them take more interest in their home-made products.
“For us to build our economy now, we have to come back home.
The expert noted with concern the effect of the current security situation in the country on the hospitality industry.
According to him, hotel business is an asset offering the nation “ample opportunities” to make a lot of foreign exchange.
“Due to the present insecurity problems in the country, it was necessary for hoteliers to upgrade their security gadgets using technologically modified ones for monitoring purposes.
“Hoteliers need to ensure the round-the-clock safety of their customers in order not to affect their patronage.
“If hoteliers can overcome poor power supply problem through the use of standby generator to maintain customers, they should also look for a way out for adequate security.’’
He also said the nation’s cultural values could be well-preserved through the hospitality industry. (NAN)