By Taiye Olayemi
Goge Africa, a tourism and cultural media brand, has urged the new tourism minister, Ms. Lola Ade-John, to focus on infrastructure development.
Nneka Isaac-Moses, the managing director of Goge Africa, stated this while congratulating the newly-appointed minister.
She urged Ade-John to prioritise building tourism infrastructure to position the industry to be more competitive.
Isaac-Moses said the infrastructure should include building new roads, airports, and hotels, as well as fixing the existing roads leading to most tourism sites, which were in a deplorable state.
Additionally, she urged the minister to consider working in partnership with the private sector and stakeholders to further advance the industry.
She said the industry had great potential but was currently facing a number of challenges, like a lack of infrastructure, investment, and awareness of Nigeria’s tourism potential.
“I will advise the minister to focus on developing tourism infrastructure; this includes building new roads, airports, and hotels. It also includes improving the quality of existing infrastructure.
“She also has to consider partnerships with the private sector and work with industry stakeholders.
“The new Ministry of Tourism will need to address these challenges to make the industry more competitive and become a major economic driver,” she said.
According to Isaac-Moses, the minister should deliberately invest in tourism marketing and promotion.
She said this includes creating a national tourism brand, developing marketing campaigns, and promoting Nigeria at international tourism trade shows.
“Also, she needs to work on raising awareness of Nigeria’s tourism potential. This can be done through public relations campaigns, educational programmes, and social media,” she said.
Isaac-Moses lauded President Bola Tinubu for establishing a stand-alone Ministry of Tourism.
“The separation of the tourism sector from information will allow each ministry to focus on their specific needs and priorities.
“It will also help to create a more streamlined and efficient government structure,” she said.
NAN
