Culture and Tourism
NIHOTOUR Trains Its Academic Staff Across The Country
Academic staff in all the nine campuses of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) across the country have undergone a Train the Trainer program to enhance the quality of teaching within the framework of academic exercises of the Institute with a call from Nura Sani Kangiwa, Director General of the Institute on the staff to see the exercise as a mission to provide innovative world-class manpower that has the enrichment of quality professionals in the industry and in line with global best practices.
Nura Kangiwa who flagged off the exercise in Abuja through representation by Dr. Taiwo Famogbiyele, Director of Research and Development, noted that the essence of the establishment of NIHOTOUR 34 years ago was to provide skills proficiency, technical upgrading programs, and professional knowledge-based education in the hospitality and tourism industry in both the public and private sectors of the country, adding that to remain true and committed to the mandate of the Institute, academic staff must be constantly exposed to the best practices in the industry which the Train the Trainer exercise is meant to achieve.
In his remarks to flag off the exercise, Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, President of the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN), reiterated the cardinal objectives of ITPN which, as an awarding body for certified professionals in the hospitality and tourism industry in Nigeria, is to ensure training by competent professionals that produce qualified personnel to be certified by the Institute.
Shedding more light on the ongoing Train the Trainer exercise, Odusanwo said it’s in the category of Certified Tourism Professional (CTP) designed as an accredited competency-based professional credential recognized by hospitality, tourism, and allied occupations employers which is the pinnacle performance-based recognition program in the Nigerian hospitality and tourism industry awarded when employees demonstrate that they have mastered the required skills and met the standards of their profession in a practical job setting.
The program, which is administered as a collaborative national certificated award is being coordinated and superintended by NIHOTOUR as Coordinator of the Sector Skills Council, while the certificates are being awarded by the ITPN as the awarding body.
The two batches of trainees which included staff of Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Benin, and Enugu Campuses for Batch One; and staff of Kaduna, Makurdi, Bauchi, and Oshogbo Campuses for Batch Two, all underwent the training of the ‘Train the Trainer Program’ which was rounded up in two weeks.
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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