...To set up lotto offer for tourists
… As Nigeria partners Miami on
exploration
ABUJA: A former House of Representative
member and Chairman Project Tourism Committee, Hon. Ned Nwoko has
offered to sponsor 100 tourism investors willing to visit Nigeria for
exploration of Nigerian tourism potentials.
Hon. Nwoko announced this at a dinner
in honour of visiting Miami Dade Trade Mission to Nigeria organized
by Linas International Ltd. in collaboration with Nigerian Tourism
Development Corporation (NTDC) in Abuja.
Nwoko who expressed delight for the
visit of the Miami delegation said Nigeria is blessed with huge
tourism potentials yet untapped and requires synergy with rich
tourism destinations like Miami to fully exploit her own resources.
He urged the visitors to disregard the
stereotype usually placed on Nigeria as bad country and look towards
the huge tourism potentials the country is endowed with.
As his own way of supporting Nigerian
tourism sector, he promised to sponsor 100 foreigners willing to come
to Nigeria for tourism exploration next year.
‘‘Nigeria is not as bad as you
read it. Some of you who have been here two or three times will
testify to this. We will encourage this coming together even as we
form the synergy to partner in area of tourism.
‘‘The synergy will be like lottery
kind of situation, where I want to sponsor 100 non-Nigerians to
Nigeria next year as my own contribution to tourism sector.
‘‘I will bring in people from the
private sector to do their own. We have about 100 Nigerians to do
this and we are sure this will widen the scope of tourism in
Nigeria,’’ he assured.
In her remarks, the Director General of
NTDC, Mrs. Mariel Rae-Omoh said any effort by government to diversify
the economy without tourism sector would amount to nothing,
considering the huge tourism potentials that abound in across the 36
states and the FCT which hold great economic benefits.
Tourism is not just one of the most
resourced based sectors of the economic but unites people from
different cultural backgrounds every day through travelling in this
globalization era.
In line with this, the NTDC has lined
up, Slave Trade relicks in Badagary, Ojukwu War mesium in Unuahia,
Yankari Game reserve in Bauchi, Kainji National Park, National Park
in Ibadan among others.
To make them become more relevant, she
said that the NTDC had set up a plan to upgrade them into world class
status in line with the world best practice.
In addition to this, she also said that
the NTDC had unfolded plans to develop at one tourism centre in
every state of the federation, as part of its contribution to the
diversification agenda of the present administration.
According to her, the proposed tourism
centres would be built on already established/existing monuments,
arts and sites in the affected states.
She expressed satisfaction with the
contribution so far made by the Nollywood, which she said had
projected the Nigeria’s tourism potentials to the outside world and
called for more collaboration.
In his address, the leader of Miami
Dade Mission to Nigeria and Vice Mayor, City of Miami Gardens,
Florida USA, Erhabor Ighadaro said their visit to Nigeria was to keep
a linkage with Nigeria on how best to explore the rich tourism
potentials of the two countries.
Ighadaro said their visit was basically
aimed at seeking for possible areas of collaboration with Nigeria and
how Nigeria could tap from the Miami’s multicultural jewels.
He further assured his hosts that the
relationship between Miami and Nigeria on tourism exploration would
be mutual and beneficial to all.
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