Creative Industry

NIHOTOUR Seeks Partnership With NAHCO To Train Personnel On Hajj Operations

Published

6 years ago

November 13, 2020

The Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Alhaji Nura Kangiwa has reiterated the importance of professional competence and certification in the effective handling of Hajj operations for Nigerian pilgrims as one of the conditional requirements by Authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Alhaji Kangiwa who made the disclosure when he visited the Chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Zikirullah Kunle Hassan in his office said this has necessitated the Institute to call for collaboration and partnership between NIHOTOUR and NAHCON so as to achieve the level of training, competence and professional certification of officials of the Hajj agency and all its partners involved in the handling of Hajj operations from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.

He said since its establishment over three decades ago, NIHOTOUR has trained over 10,000 certified IATA personnel in the nation’s Travel and Tourism industry and attained the best IATA training center in Africa and among the top ten best IATA training centers globally, noting that with this track record of excellence NIHOTOUR is prepared to bring its vast material and manpower resources to bear in training and re-training of the manpower needs of the Hajj Commission.

In his response, Alhaji Zikirullah Kunle Hassan Chairman/CEO National Hajj Commission of Nigeria said NAHCON has all along been aware of the requirements by the Saudi authorities on professionalism, competence, and IATA certification of officials and personnel handling Hajj operations into the Holy land, adding that the Commission gladly welcomes NIHOTOUR’s proposal to offer training for its staff and personnel.

Alhaji Hassan noted that the World is changing with the professionalization of every aspect of activities of our lives and the Hajj operation is not an exception, stressing that NIHOTOUR’s approach of the Commission to offer its training services couldn’t have come at a better time than now, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which requires a high level of professional conduct in the handling of future Hajj operations.

Present during the courtesy visit by the NIHOTOUR Director-General was Management staff from both the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria

Share on Facebook

Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

Share on Facebook