Creative Industry
NTDA Strengthens Tourism Growth Through Partnership with African Travel Commission (ATC)
Joel Ajayi
The Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) has taken a significant step toward advancing tourism development across the country by partnering with the African Travel Commission (ATC).
This strategic alliance was re-echoed during a recent meeting at the NTDA Headquarters in Abuja where ATC met with the Director Overseeing the Office of Director-General, Mr. Richard Ovie Esewhaye to discuss a unified approach aimed at boosting tourism.
The ATC delegation was Led by Dr. Lucky George, Executive Director of the ATC, who espoused the need to leverage our collective strengths to promote sustainable tourism growth and cultural exchange within Nigeria and indeed Africa.
In his response, the Director Overseeing the Office of Director-General observed that tourism development has been a cliche for a long time in Nigeria with past administrations paying lip service to the sector. He expressed commitment to effecting a paradigm shift towards practical tourism growth under the present administration.
As the NTDA and ATC plan to jointly develop campaigns that highlight the rich cultural heritage and emerging travel experience of Nigerians and Africans, a major stakeholder that will now be engaged is the travel press.
This was re-emphasised during the session with both parties in agreement that the essence was to pool resources and expertise in order to attract a broader international audience that will key into the new impetus engineered by NTDA and ATC.
In his closing statement, Mr. Esewhaye underscored the potential for this collaboration to create jobs and enhance infrastructure, stating, “This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of transforming Nigeria and Africa’s tourism landscape.”
Creative Industry
FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth
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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