Culture and Tourism
Staff Capacity Upgrade Key To Achieving Agency Mandate-Kangiwa
Joel Ajayi
The Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa has stressed the importance of staff capacity development as key to the success of any organization in achieving the implementation of its core mandate
Kangiwa who disclosed this while declaring opened a retreat organized for Senior Management staff of the Institute over the weekend in Keffi, Nasarawa state, said it is the best means of charting an Agency’s mission-vision for achieving efficiency and sustaining staff comraderies fundamental to best service delivery.
The Director General who lamented on the abysmal record of achievement of NIHOTOUR in its 28 years of existence to provide skills proficiency, technical upgrading programmes and professional knowledge-based education in the hospitality and travel tourism in the country, said it is regrettable that the Institute failed to actualize its robust mandate.
He emphasized his resolve to make NIHOTOUR the warehouse of knowledge and specialist skills and a foremost enabler of tourism development not only for Nigeria, but in the West African sub region as envisaged by the founding fathers of the Institute, adding that he is fully committed to fulfilling the Institute’s sector-specific mandate.
Kangiwa who railed out his 3-point agenda that include staff welfare, institutional capacity development and sector-specific repositioning said to achieve these, staff attitude of indiscipline in the form of late coming to work, absenteeism, truancy and lack of commitment to work must stop.
‘Repositioning NIHOTOUR as the game changer in moving the Nigeria’s hospitality travel-tourism industry to greater height as the socio-economic hub of the country is a task that we must all strive to achieve’, Kangiwa posited, adding that all resolutions at the end of the retreat will serve as the basis for management’s policies and operations expected to impact on the efficient and effective delivery of the Institute’s mandate.
Culture and Tourism
Awakan Marks First Anniversary as NTDA DG, Charts New Course for Tourism Sector
Joel Ajayi
As the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) enters its second year under the leadership of the Director-General, Mr. Ola Awakan, the focus will remain on building partnerships and converting Nigeria’s tourism assets into greater opportunities for investment and accelerated economic growth.
That simple message framed the one year scorecard presented on Wednesday by Mr. Awakan during NTDA Tourism Week 2026 and activities leading to World Tourism Day held in Abuja.
“Nigeria does not lack tourism assets,” Awakan said. “What is required is a system that connects these assets to investments, jobs, technology, enterprise and sustainable economic value.” He added.
Reeling out his scorecard, Awakan observed that over the past year, the Authority concentrated on stakeholder engagement, innovation, investment facilitation, digital transformation, destination marketing, tourism intelligence and institution building.
He explained that efforts have been made towards deeper collaboration with government institutions, traditional institutions, private-sector operators, development partners, financial institutions, professional bodies, communities and international partners.
On the digital front, the NTDA boss said the Authority has advanced NITOUREY, a dedicated tourism streaming platform and content ecosystem meant to take Nigerian destinations, culture and experiences to wider audiences, in alignment with this year’s World Tourism Day theme, “Digital agenda and artificial intelligence to redesign Tourism”.
He also identified Naija Flavour as a flagship project to position Nigerian cuisine as both a tourism asset and a tool for cultural diplomacy, linking tourism to Nollywood, music, fashion, food, festivals and digital creativity.
Speaking further, Awakan reiterated that the NTDA is also digitising tourism enterprise accreditation and regulatory processes while developing a grassroots tourism framework to identify, document and promote assets across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
Internationally, NTDA has expanded ties with tourism institutions, diplomatic missions, development partners and global organisations on technical cooperation, investment, destination marketing, capacity building, cultural diplomacy and market access.
The NTDA helmsman however recognised that challenges remain such as infrastructure gaps, weak tourism data, limited connectivity to some destinations, security concerns in certain locations, regulatory compliance shortfalls and the need for stronger private-sector participation.
Awakan remained positive looking ahead with his priorities including the mobilisation of more tourism investment, accelerating the development of viable assets, expanding domestic and international marketing through deeper digital transformation, strengthening regulation, increasing community participation, building capacity of tourism professionals and deepening partnerships with international tourism institutions.
The DG also announced plans for the expanded Naija Flavour International Tourism Expo to be unveiled in Abuja later this year making it the ultimate platform aimed at drawing international participation, investors and development partners into the sector.
While thanking President Bola Tinubu GCFR for giving him the opportunity to serve, he added that, “One year in office is not the destination. It is a checkpoint,” reiterating that the next phase would require stronger partnerships, greater investment and sustained institutional commitment.
Earlier, the Director of Marketing and Promotion of NTDA Mr. Olufemi Akinyele, said the milestone was being marked as part of NTDA Tourism Week, which began with a road walk and a guided tour of Abuja under the theme “Digital Vibes, Nigerian Pride: Celebrating Tourism, Culture and People.”
Government and industry representatives at the event congratulated the Director General and commended the Authority’s increased engagement with tourism stakeholders.
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