Tourism future of Nigeria UNWTO
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he said that africa is unwtos top priority in the area of tourism and investment promotion1 the united nations world tourism organisation unwto has declared tourism as the future of nigeria as the nation hosts the 61st unwto commission for africa caf conference1 mr zurab pololikashvili unwto secretary-general made the declaration in abuja at a pre-conference media briefing he jointly addressed with the minister of information and culture alhaji lai mohammed1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports pololikashvili and other executives of the organisation arrived in nigeria early sunday morning for the 61st unwto commission for africa caf conference holding from june 4 to june 6 in abuja1 nigeria last year won the right to host unwto-caf conference which is the gathering of all african ministers of tourism principal executives of the global tourism body and other stakeholders in the tourism sector1 pololikashvili said nigeria has lots of tourism potential to show to the world and the meeting would serve as a platform to showcase the country as continental tourism hub1 he commended the president muhammadu buharis administration for identifying tourism as one of the sectors for economic diversification1 he said that tourism is gaining weight as a development opportunity for the whole continent with its vast diversity of nature culture and its greatest vehicle for development1 pololikashvili said that tourism has huge potential to generate lasting development opportunities in africa and nigeria in particular if managed in the right ways1 the organisation has promised to support the country in developing the sector1 he mentioned some of the unwtos agenda for africa to include poverty alleviation climate change education and skills development and financing1 there are broad impact of tourism for the benefit of societies and its people and promoting tourism as a priority in national agendas he said1 the secretary-general said that unwto is planning to restore the training of journalists across african continent for better reportage1 the minister welcomed pololikashvili and his team to the country noting that nigeria is the first the secretary-general would be attending his first unwto-caf meeting since assumption of office in january 20181 mohammed said nigeria is all set to host the best unwto-caf meeting ever adding that all necessary preparations had been made to ensure a successful meeting1 we also expect an impressive attendance. as at today we have confirmation from 166 foreign delegates 26 ministers and 332 nigerian delegates excluding the gentlemen of the press1 several delegates have arrived and many more are expected in today he said1 the minister said that the theme of the meeting tourism statistics a catalyst for development fitted very well into our quest to improve on the nations tourism statistics for planning purposes and the ultimate development of tourism sector. nan1