Creative Industry

Kangiwa Vows to Address Skill Gap at Tourism, Transportation summit

Published

5 years ago

November 19, 2021

Joel Ajayi
The Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism NIHOTOUR, Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa has stated that achieving the lofty goals of making the tourism industry of the country a goldmine will remain a mirage until the dearth and inadequacies of suitably trained and skilled personnel to operate the sector are addressed.

Kangiwa who stated this in a Goodwill message at the 2021 Tourism Transportation Summit and Expo held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja said the basis for which NIHOTOUR was set up was to address the skilled gaps of all cadre of personnel in the country’s travel tourism and hospitality.

While commending the National Tourism and Transportation Summit and Expo as another vibrant platform and avenue for the creation of the synergy required for tourism to thrive with transportation been a dependable ally, the Director General said the theme of the 2021 Summit and Expo which is Tourism Transportation Connectivity and Partnership:
Leveraging the AfCFTA Regime for Economic Sustainability was very timely and in line with the desire of the tourism industry for the successful implementation of the AfCFTA trade agreements which promise to open trade and market frontiers for 54 African countries of a population of near 1.5 billion people.

He said when the AfCFTA regime finally takes off fully, it is expected to boost trade and activities in the travel tourism and hospitality industry requiring the services of professionals of the industry to deliver quality services to the large customer population of the African continent.

Kangiwa promised that NIHOTOUR has set for itself the target, in line with its core mandate, to provide high and middle level cadre of manpower personnel that will effectively service the industry bearing in mind that the AfCFTA regime will create enormous demands of services of the industry.

While making bold to say that the initiative of the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN) to come up with the 2021 event in this manner was quite commendable and should be applauded, Kangiwa called on participants and Exhibitors at the event to come up with workable plans for Nigeria’s participation in the AfCFTA regime a beneficial one for the socio-economic good of the country.

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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.

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