Nigeria set to host 1st global cultural tourism conference

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has assured that the 1st Global Conference on Cultural Tourism and Creative Industry, to be held in Lagos November this year, will be a trailblazing event.

This was contained in statement issued and issued by Segun Adeyemi  Special Assistant To The President (Media),Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.

The Minister gave the assurance in Madrid on Tuesday when he signed the hosting agreement for the event with the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, in the Spanish capital.

He said the signing of the agreement is the clearest indication yet of Nigeria’s commitment to hosting a successful conference, officially entitled ‘1st UNWTO Global Conference on Linking Tourism, Culture and Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Inclusive Development’.

Mohammed said the conference will be held at the National Theatre, which is currently being renovated at a cost of $100 million, under a partnership between the Federal Government and the Bankers’ Committee/Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said the conference will form a part of the events to formally declare open the National Theatre, the iconic edifice which is  undergoing its first renovation in over four decades, in addition to witnessing the construction of new hubs for fashion, information technology, film and music.

‘’In an effort to ensure that the National Theatre complex is ready or the hosting in November, I recently undertook an inspection tour of ongoing work there with stakeholders, including the Governor of Lagos State, the Governor of CBN and the Minister of Sports and Youth Development. Every indication is that the venue will be ready early enough to host the global conference,’’ the Minister assured.