Lagos – Chief Olusegun Runsewe,
Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), has
said that Nigerians will witness an influx of American tourists
into the country.
into the country.
Runsewe spoke at the opening
ceremony of the 8th edition of “Akwaaba African Travel Market’’ on
Monday in Lagos.
He was sure that the influx would
happen because 70 per cent of black Americans had traced their origins back to
Nigeria through DNA tests conducted in the U.S.
“Nigeria is done with talking; we
are ready to sell the destination.
“The story the American hears is
that nothing is working in Nigeria, but the story has changed as 70 per cent of
America tourists are ready to visit Nigeria,’’ Runsewe said.
Runsewe said that the NTDC was
partnering the biggest U.S. tour operator, Mr Paul Cohen, to organise American
tourists to Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria has been
listed as one of the major preferred tourism destinations among African
countries by the U.S. tour operator.
He said that this achievement was
recorded through the U.S. road show, which the NTDC conducted.
Runsewe stressed the need for a
viable airline industry as the tourism business needed it to grow very well.
The wife of the Cross River
governor, Mrs Obioma Imoke, said that the state government had concluded
plans to establish a hospitality and tourism institute in the state.
Imoke said that the idea was to
train individuals who were interested in working in the tourism and hospitality
industry.
“We are determined to reposition the
tourism industry in the state; the state government has mapped out programmes
to drive tourism and culture of the state,’’ she said.
She commended the organisers of the
event, saying that the programme had continued to project the Nigerian tourism
industry.
Earlier, Mr Ikechi Uko, the
publisher of Africa Quarterly Travel (ATQ), which organised the event, said
that it was meant to enable the participants to explore the country’s tourism
potential.
Uko said that said that 100
companies from Nigeria and other African countries in the travel, tourism and
hospitality business were participating in the exhibition.
He said that the event was open to
travel and tourism operators to network, showcase their products, services and
learn of new devices and trends in the travel industry.
“This year’s edition holds a lot of
promise as it is coming with all the regular features and events for the
benefit of the exhibitors and the public.
“For the first time, people now
understand what a travel expo is all about; people know what to do and they are
doing it well,’’ he said.
Akwaaba African Travel is an event
that brings together travel professionals from many countries, including
airlines, hotels, resorts, tourism boards, national parks, destination marketers,
travel and tour operators
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