Business
Association Urges Training For Tourism Practitioners
The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), has called for robust training of tourism practitioners to enhance their professionalism in the hospitality industry.
The association’s President, Alhaji Saleh Rabo, stated this in a statement issued in Abuja recently saying there was need to strengthen the efforts of institutions offering courses in tourism.
He said this would ensure quality training and provision of adequate manpower needed to promote the tourism industry.
He called for greater synergy among smaller outfits in the tourism industry, saying this was necessary to ensure efficiency in service delivery.
Rabo, who said that tourism industry was diverse in nature, added that no arm of the chain must be neglected in the training process.
He said “the tourism industry is very big because it encompasses so many things. You take from the hotels, the travel agencies, the transport companies, the taxi owners, the handicraft works owners; all these things are part of the small arms that make up the larger industry stressing that “and all these people play a great role in the growth and development of tourism industry, and as such all these people need training.
He said “training helps to give good results and training helps to improve the performance of every organisation. “Therefore, if we have training for our manpower, for our staff in the hospitality and tourism industry, it will go a long way in giving us quality service,’’ Rabo said.
He said that NANTA was committed to combining professionalism with integrity and honesty for the growth of the industry.
Rabo, however, cautioned against dubious persons operating in the sector, adding: “We call on people to be very weary of such people, because in every industry there are dupes.
“But for us in the travel industry, we will tell you to go to registered offices and do not deal with people who are working with bags because there are bag carrying agents
“They collect your money and say they will issue you a ticket, and before you know it they have disappeared.
“But if you go to a registered office you know that whatever transactions you are doing there you are safe.
He added “because if you have any problem you will always come back there and your problem will be addressed,” he added.