The Rivers State Tourism Development Agency (RSTDA) has organised a Port Harcourt City Creatives’ Hangout, with a charge to Rivers people to engage in activities that would sell and promote the image of the State at all times.
The Director General of the agency, Mr Yibo Koko, who disclosed this recently, emphasised the need for creative people in the state to work together with stakeholders to actually grow their creative assets.
The creatives’ hangout, the second of such this year, which took place at the RSTDA office in Port Harcourt recently, attracted a wide range of super stars who performed to the admiration of audience.
Koko said in an interview with newsmen that the event was organised as part of the mandate of RSTDA to attract things that would grow the tourism assets of the state.
He added that the agency actually wanted the artists to discover their potentials and how they can utilise such talents for sustainable growth.
“The only way we can let people know that the creative economy or tourism is a tool for sustainable growth is to have interaction with the creatives themselves,” Koko said.
According to him, RSTDA also organised a similar event in April and plans to make it a monthly affair.
The RSTDA boss further hinted that Rivers people are passionate about the Christmas Carnival known as CARNIRIV, stressing that a poll recently organised by the agency indicated that 96 percent of the young generation and 68 percent of the older generation actually want the carnival but regretted a situation where some people erroneously see RSTDA as a carnival agency and commission.
He disclosed that the agency has engaged local government areas and some individuals in the creative space within the local government areas to organise a semblance of the carnival in their localities.
According to him, that is why we today have Isiokpo carnival, Andoni carnival, Buguma carnival and Igwuruta carnival, among others.
Apart from the carnivals, Koko said the agency is doing a great deal to make the people gain valuable insights into what constitutes the creative economy or tourism in the state, saying, “the creatives need to understand that collaboration is the essence for everyone to grow. The creatives’ hangout is a way of continuing the conversation that doing it alone is not the best way to go”.
Koko also stressed the need for people in the private sector to do something concrete to promote the tourism sector in the state without necessarily looking at the body language of the government.
According to him, that is exactly what RSTDA is doing, as it has ensured that several creative Rivers youths have found themselves in several developed countries of the world to improve and showcase their creative talents.
He gave an example of a young man who hails from Khana Local Government Area that recently won a competition in the United States, and decried a situation where some people in the creative space are in a hurry and therefore want quick results.
According to him, once the creative people are able to see what they have as assets, the totality of the tourism space is going to work.
On the outstanding performance of Rivers State at the recent NAFEST in Lagos, the RSTDA boss said it is an indication that Rivers State is a great State.
“The beauty of our culture, our tradition, our ways of life anywhere in the world is beyond the imagination”, he said.
Koko said until the creative industry is seen as a sustainable channel for growth for both the artistes and the state rather than a feel good space, much would not be achieved.
He urged Rivers people to set aside politics and other primordial sentiments, and push to the outside world all information and images portraying the state in positive light.