Stakeholders task minister on purposeful tourism

Stakeholders in the tourism industry have called on the new Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, to be purposeful with a view to moving the sector to the next level.
Some of the stakeholders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, described the establishment of the ministry as a welcome development.
The President of Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA), Mrs Oluwafunmilayo Kazeem, said the ministry should focus solely on tourism related matters.
“The minister should look at the area of effective security in hotels, where tourists normally put up.
“There is also the need to sanitise the hospitality industry to checkmate quacks and ensure safety of tourists and guests in hotels.
“Also, the minister should ensure the classification of hotels in the country, this will help advance the sector and attract tourists from across the globe.
“She should also look at the area of multiple taxes. The sector, especially the hospitality industry is suffering from multiple taxes and it is affecting our operation.
“Though I know that the ministry does not have the mandate on power supply but the aspect is very important to our operation,” she said.
The President of Youth in Tourism, Mr Daniel Okon, said that the establishment of the stand-alone ministry of Tourism was a dream come true.
According to him, the sector has been on comatose for a long time.
“The merging of Information and Culture Ministry was a disadvantage to the tourism sector, because all attention was shifted to only information.
“But now that a ministry is created, to God be the Glory. Now tourism would be given the needed attention and thus taken to the next level.
In the same vain, the President of Middle Belt Tourism Association, Mr Benedith Terso, said the establishment of the ministry would go a long way to address the challenges bedeviling the sector.
NAN, reports that in the last eight years, stakeholders had continued to complain that the tourism sector was not given the needed attention.NAN