The National Coordinator,
Nigeria Hotels Association (NHA), Mr Lanre Awoseyin, last Tuesday urged the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) to produce a comprehensive national tourism directory.
Awoseyin told newsmen on telephone in Lagos that Nigeria did not have a national directory that outlined its tourist centres.
He advised that the directory should bring to limelight the tourist centres in a manner that local and foreign tourists would easily locate them.
He said that the directory should also outline Nigeria’s cultural festivals.
“This gesture would lure more tourists into the country because the various tourism centres will be more projected globally, ‘’ Awoseyin said.
According to him, “It is the mandate of the NTDC to prepare a comprehensive national tourism directory that will outline the various tourist centres and cultural festivals.
“This directory will act as a document that will project the image of the various tourist centres and cultural festivals in the country.
“I believe that NTDC will face its primary responsibility of marketing the nation’s tourism potential to the international community,’’ Awoseyin said.
The expert said that the marketing was imperative now that the Supreme Court made it clear that registration of hotels was not NTDC’s responsibility.
He said that production of the directory should be paramount to NTDC rather than “chasing’’ registration of hotels
Awoseyin urged that capable professional bodies in tourism industry could start preparing a blueprint on the directory.
“The professional bodies should partner with big companies such as Airtel and MTN to produce the tourism national directory just as it is done in other countries.