Following the issuance of a registration notice to tourism practitioners in Nigeria, the Director General of the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Aare Abisoye Fagade, has commissioned a registration compliance team of the institute in Abuja.
The team headed by Mr. Chike Ukekwe, the Director of Enforcement, was presented with official jackets. Members of the team also include Dr. Ajiboye Longe, the institute’s Director of Communications and Strategy.
As reported by Sun News, the Oyo state government has disclosed a plan to partner with NIHOTOUR in order to take action against unregistered travel and tour agencies, along with other related operators. The state government said the aim was to regulate the industry practitioners in the state.
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The state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, said this during a press briefing held with the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) to create awareness among operators of travel and tour agencies.
Olatunbosun said the exercise was to inform the tourism practitioners and the general public about the government’s plans to sanitize the sector through registration of all travel and tour operators in the state.
He noted that most of the tour and travel operators operating without a licence fail to comply with the relevant laws and regulations that guide the industry and have caused untold hardship to members of the public as a result of low standard of service.
Olatunbosun said the registration would give government the opportunity to have a database of the travel and tour agencies for effective monitoring and evaluation of their activities and to ensure the safety of the lives of the people of Oyo State.
The commissioner said the sensitisation and awareness exercise commenced on Monday, March 24 and would last for a month, after which the enforcement of sanctions on unregistered travel and tour operators would be implemented.
He said: “As we are all aware, tourism is one of the pillars to grow our state’s economy under Omituntun 2.0 as contained in Governor Seyi Makinde’s Roadmap for Accelerated Development 2023-2027.
“A recent economic and business survey conducted in December 2024 showed that the number of daily visitors to Oyo State increased from an average of 1,604 in May 2019 to an average of 18,459 as of December 2024. This is an increase of 16,855 tourists per day.”