Minister Urges Nigerians to ‘Love’ Their Country and Promote Domestic Tourism

The Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Lola Ade-John, has called on Nigerians to take pride in the country’s natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. 

Speaking at the 10th edition of the Wonders of Nigeria Expo at the National Museum Onikan in Lagos, she stressed the potential of the tourism industry to create jobs and boost the economy, emphasizing the importance of domestic tourism.

The Wonders of Nigeria Expo is an annual event that showcases Nigeria’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. The event aims to promote domestic tourism and encourage Nigerians to take pride in their country’s rich heritage.

According to the minister of tourism, Mrs. Ade-John, domestic tourism has the potential to contribute significantly to enhancing the economy if fully harnessed. 

She noted that Nigeria is blessed with amazing and beautiful sites that many Nigerians travel outside the country to see, emphasizing that charity must begin from home.

The minister also highlighted the importance of preserving Nigeria’s cultural heritage, including its historical sites and artifacts. 

She expressed concern that many of these sites are not properly preserved and called on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to take action to protect them.

“We need to love this country. We need to own this country and therefore I am actually hunting for investors of assets in Nigeria. We really need to bring out the beauty and tell the story of Nigeria” 

Mrs. Ade-John also emphasized the need to promote Nigeria’s tourism industry through storytelling and showcasing its natural beauty and the need to change the narrative around Nigeria’s past, including its civil war.

“Why are we ashamed of our past? We need to talk about our past and get rid of our differences. Our differences are not helping us here. Everything in Nigeria is political, and I’m sorry I’m on the other side, but we need to change that narrative”.

Travel and Tourism Ambassador Mr. Ikechi Uko stressed the need for Nigeria to use its own population to its advantage. 

He emphasized that Nigeria has a large and diverse population that can be leveraged to promote the country’s tourism industry.

“If we sell Nigerians to Nigerians, Africans to Africans, we will be able to generate any number we need without looking for people coming with visa”.

During a panel session, tour guides, tour operators, and travel agents shared their experiences and challenges in promoting Nigeria’s rich tourism sites and culture. They called on the federal and state governments to help address the problems they face.

“The lack of understanding by the people, funding, insecurity, people handling the tour sites are not well experienced, infrastructure amongst others. Government should look at trying to put together grant and support the promoters with funds”.

Am independent traveller, Queen Bethia Idolo said, “As beautiful as Obudu is, there is no light in Obudu”.

Highlights of the expo was the presentation of the ‘Travellers Awards’ by the African Travel Quarterly Magazine, ATQ to Ibom Air as ‘Best Airline of Year, 2023.

Other recipients are, active tourism states for 2023 and the states awarded are, Edo, Ekiti, Abia, Enugu and Cross River State.

Certificates were presented to 100 participants trained on promoting tourism, different delicacies sampled from the six geopolitical zones of the country, and a photo exhibition of various tourism sites in the country.