Insecurity no barrier to global tourism conference hosting —NTDC boss

Chief Folorunso Coker, Director-General of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC),  has noted it is erroneous to assume that insecurity will flop successful hosting of the first Global Conference on Cultural Tourism and Creative Industry in Nigeria.

He stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Madrid Spain.

He was responding to insinuations in certain quarters that insecurity might be a barrier to the successful hosting of the global conference in the country.

NAN reports that the NTDC boss is in the entourage of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to Madrid for the signing of a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and the UNWTO on the hosting of the global conference.

The agreement was signed by Mohammed on behalf of Nigeria while the UNWTO Secretary-General, Mr Zurab Pololikashvili signed on behalf of the global organisation.

The conference scheduled for Nov. 14 to Nov. 17, will be the first event to be hosted at the National Theatre, Lagos, currently being renovated and expected to be completed before then.

Coker cautioned that people should stop sensationalising issues of insecurity in Nigeria because of its detrimental effects on the image and development of the country.

He said tourism thrived in many other countries that had worse security issues than Nigeria.

“Nigeria is not the murder capital of the world, neither is it the rape capital and 419 capital of the world.

“We have 36 states in Nigeria from which there are challenges of insecurity in some of them. Are we saying the country and other states should fold their arms and not develop their tourism potential?

“If we run down our country because of sensationalising insecurity which is a global challenge, nobody will develop it for us,” he said

The NTDC boss assured that Nigeria would have a successful and trailblazing outing in the hosting of the global conference.

According to Coker, the global conference would afford Nigeria the opportunity to showcase its best that can be offered to the world in the tourism and creative industry ecosystem.

“We have to show what Afrobeat is, our fashion industry, culinary, arts, cultural displays and others.

“These are the things that will resonate around the world because of the dominance of Nigeria in those specific fields.

“The multiplier effect is going to be huge, especially with the digital revolution we are currently experiencing,” he said.

The NTDC boss, therefore, called on every Nigerian and particularly the critical stakeholders in the tourism and creative industry sector to support the government to have a successful outing. (NAN)