LAGOS – A hospitality and tourism lecturer, Mr Wale Odeyemi, on Friday said Nigeria lacked accurate data on tourism expenditures and international tourism arrivals at the various points of entry.
Odeyemi, a Senior Lecturer at the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), South West Campus, Lagos, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
Lagos.
According to him, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) should partner with relevant agencies at various points of entry to gather information on movements of tourists in and out of the
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]
country.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
He said such information would enable the NTDC to plan ahead of time on how to promote the nation’s domestic tourism and ensure adequate development in the sector.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
“Every individual travelling in and outside the country should fill a form at the various points of entry to ascertain the purpose of such travel.
“This will enable the NTDC to have adequate information on the movement of tourists and visitors in the country,’’ Odeyemi told NAN.
He, however, urged the NTDC, which had the mandate of marketing and promoting Nigeria’s tourism, to ensure that every tourism establishment in the country was registered before it could operate.
The lecturer suggested that the NTDC should strive to have accurate information on the number of hotels, fast food chains, event centres, travel agencies and other tourism establishments in the country.
He said that most tourist nations like Ghana, Tanzania, Gambia and Kenya registered their tourism establishments with their relevant apex tourism authority before operation.
Odeyemi said the lackadaisical attitude of the NTDC in registering tourism establishments had resulted to loss of billions of naira by government.
The tourism expert advised the NTDC to partner with professional associations in the industry in promoting domestic tourism.
He said the associations could do so through regular stakeholders’ meetings to identify ways of encouraging travelling within the country.
Odeyemi said this would also encourage inflow of foreigners. (NAN)
Expert bemoans inaccurate data on tourism expenditures, arrivals
Loading...
