Nigeria: Tourism Can Sustain Development in Rural, Urban Communities

Abuja, Nigeria | September 27, 2007 by D-8 Secretariat

The Minister of FCT, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar has said that for sustainable development to take place in rural and urban communities there must be complete access to tourism that will accelerate growth and development in their socio-economic life, and provide new and more enduring solutions to the challenges in the environment, as reported by the Nigerian Daily Trust.

The minister affirmed this at the flag-off programme on ‘Capacity Building for Community Based Tourism Enterprises and Sustainable Rural Tourism Development in Nigeria’ held in Abuja recently.

The minister, who was represented by Mrs Aderemi, said that the theme, quite apt and very relevant at these challenging times when increased in host communities in involvement, changing consumer preferences, safety and health problems, globalisation resulting in cultural accomodification, technological advancement, environmental and population press-ures are changing the face of tourism.

He said, by extension these are creating serious challenges to rural tourism and the stakeholders within and outside the communities, as most of the attractive and enduring tourist destinations are located in the rural areas where over 70 percent of the country’s population live.

The minister said that his ministry acknowledge and encourage the public-private partnership initiative that is being celebrated, adding that it will go a long way to assisting government particularly at the state and local government levels.

He said that the case of Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory deserves to be mentioned and special attention in their need to be turned into a preferred tourist desti-nation considering their cultural and natural endow-ments which are expressed in attractive and outstanding ecological, scenic, historic and cultural sites, some of which incidentally are under threats due to misuse by developers through uncontrolled development.“My ministry is poised to build on the beautification drive of the immediate past administration of the Federal Capital Territory especially Abuja, the Federal Capital by not only turning them into Green Tourism Destinations, but also endeavour to access the effectiveness of SMME’s support institutions in the tourism industry in order to mitigate the constraints faced by SMMEs in tourism in the Local Governments”.

He urged donor agencies, financial and development institutions, multi-national companies, corporate institutions, NGOs and all tiers of governments to provide appropriate assistance to Travel Marketing Partners Nig. Limited, a strategic partner to NEPAD - Nigeria and the initiator of this programme in the delivery processes of the workshop series in the programme.

However, the chairman, Travel Marketing Partners, Amb. Segun Olusola said the programme is tailored in line with NEPAD tourism action plan particularly in the area of poverty alleviation, health, wealth creation, gender equality and women participation which has also received special attention in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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