By Ohikwo Mohammed
As the World Celebrates Tourism Day, a Hospitality Expert, Alhaji Aliyu Badaki has called on government to give priority to tourism development in view of benefits derivable from the sector.
Speaking to Newsmen, Alhaji Badaki sought improved budgetary allocation and enabling laws to boost capacity of operators.
Alhaji Badaki who is the first deputy president, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), reiterated the socio-economic importance of tourism and called on government to provide the enabling environment in terms of favourable state policies and investment in infrastructure that would guarantee returns by the private sector.
Alhaji Badaki decried the low budgetary allocation by both State and Federal Governments to Tourism Sector, noting that government must take the sector seriously so as to create massive employment, foreign exchange, improve IGR and overall boosting of the economy.
He therefore advocated more budgetary provisions by government to the sector if the nation must maximise the full benefits of tourism in Nigeria.
Alhaji Badaki further advised stakeholders including the media to do more in creating awareness of opportunities abound tourism in order to endear the world to the potentials of tourism in Nigeria.
According to him, several laws by states do not favour investment in tourism because of lack of interest and poor funding.
He encouraged the revitalization of the Presidential Council on Tourism made up of relevant MDAs and saddled with the responsibility of developing tourism programmes, policies and devising solutions to tourism challenges in Nigeria.
According to him, the private sector would use this year’s WTD celebration to focus on water tourism; the blue economy to project the potentials of the waterways in tourism particularly in Lagos state.
