Nigeria to host first ever UNWTO conference in November
BY IDONG INYANG, CALABAR
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), has granted Nigeria the rights to host the first-ever UNWTO Global Conference on ‘Linking Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries’.
The conference, which is scheduled to hold from 14th to 16th November, 2022, at the National Theatre Complex, Iganmu, Lagos, will provide an opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s tourism and creative assets.
It will also create a viable platform to identify, develop and promote new models of stronger partnership between tourism, culture and the creative industries, as highly interlinked sectors for inclusive economic growth and social development.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this in Calabar on Tuesday, in a keynote address to mark this year’s celebration of the 42nd edition of the World Tourism Day, stated that it will equally be a Pathway to Recovery and Inclusive Development.
He said that the nation places great emphasis in the national vision and strategy, which recognises the importance and capacity of the tourism sector to play a vital role in supporting the national economy.
According to him, tourism enriches the economy from different sources, including tourism expenditures, which benefit the host economy by reinvesting the income in several sectors as well as contributing to government revenue through employment generation; from hotel managers to cleaners.
Mohammed stated that tourism creates one out of every 10 jobs globally, promotes and strengthens local cultural initiatives through events and festivals, explaining that the heritage of a community is preserved, while the communities are empowered.
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It also contributes to social services and meeting the needs of tourists, which often translates to the provision of good roads, sewage systems to the locality, and enhances quality of life, the culture minister further added.
Highlights of the event in Calabar included tour of Arts and Crafts village, Millennium Park, Mary Slessor Park, old residency, slave museum and a courtesy call on the Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade.
