Two Nigerian musicians, Chinedu Okoli
and Patrick Okorie on Thursday called for adequate harnessing of the
potential of the tourism sector to boost the country’s revenue
generation.
Okoli and Okorie, popularly known as
Patoranking and Flavour respectively, made the call in an interview
with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Thursday.
“If you look around most African
countries, they have started working on their hospitality business
for revenue generation. I think it is time for us to take a cue from
that.
“Those countries can hardly organise
a show without inviting Nigerian artistes – comedians and musicians
– and the reception is always great.
“Before other African nations beat us
to it, I think it’s time we beef up our tourism and entertainment
industry,” Okoli told NAN.
On his part, Okorie called for an
-up-to-date-directory of hotels and lodges in the country in the
interest of tourists.
He also urged improved security in
hotels and other tourist sites.
“The security situation in the
country is not as bad as portrayed, but a lot still needs to be done
to create a better platform for our God-given resources that visitors
need to see,” he said.
He pledged musicians’ support for
national development through their profession.
NAN reports that Ms Sally Mbanefo,
Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Agency, had in
November said that the tourism sector generated over $1.1 billion in
2015 from over six million visitors.
Mbanefo said in a seminar that in 2014,
$853 million was generated from 4.8 million visitors, adding that the
sector had massive growth potential.
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