How To Harness Tourism Potential, By NANTA Boss

Nigeria can generate enormous resources if it harnesses its tourism potentials, President, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bankole Bernard has said.

He spoke with Woleshadare.net at the side-line of the listing of Medview Airlines at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The NANTA boss noted that the country is blessed with many tourism potentials that can be a major revenue generation base for the economy apart from oil.

Bankole however, regretted that unfortunately, these potentials are left to decay while a good number of them are poorly managed.

He said as countries continue to reap bountifully from tourism, Nigeria has consistently remained backward and there appears to be no beam of light as to how these potentials can be fully harnessed so as to boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The NANTA boss explained that the only way you can grow tourism in Nigeria is to ensure there is a near perfect aviation industry.

He said: “I have discussed this with the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and I have told him that aviation and tourism need to be linked together if we are going to get the benefit that we really desire from tourism. “Tourism is one arm that can take this economy out of recession.

It is high time government de-emphasised oil and start to look at none oil revenue. Tourism is not one area that will take us out of this quagmire that we have found ourselves as Nigerians and we will continue to call the government’s attention to it.” He lauded some states such as Lagos that have embraced tourism, urging other states to key into it. “They all have the facilities; they don’t need to borrow money to enhance the tourism facilities that they have and it will grow.

They can start even with domestic tourism. We have said this without number that these are the things the government should look into”, he added.

Speaking on effect of security on tourism, Bankole said the unrest in a small part of the country does not imply that the country is unstable.

He said: “I would say that as at today, tourism is still flourishing in Kenya. You know few years ago you heard about the massacre of students in Kenya, about 135 lives were lost and tourism is still growing.

There was attack on tourists in Tunisia and tourism is still being promoted in that country.” He reiterated that in Turkey, there has been promotion of tourism in that country, yet tourism is still growing.

“Are you going to say because of security they won’t still pay attention to it? I think that is one area we have gotten it wrong. They have to continue to promote tourism whether we have security challenges or not.

Afterall, what they made the rest of the world to know is that the whole of Nigeria is not safe and under siege of Boko Haram and this is in one particular area of the country.”

He lauded the military for capturing Sambisa Forest, noting that the media is quiet about it. Besides, he stated that every area has the potential for tourism to grow, adding that Oyo state has the first television station but not much noise has been made about it.

Wole Shadare