FG Vows to Make Tourism Sustainable, Create Jobs
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The federal government has said it is ready to develop tourism in the country and make the industry more sustainable by working with the private sector in order for tourism to yield unprecedented economic and human capital returns.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made this assurance in a statement issued in London yesterday to mark the 2017 World Tourism Day.
He said sustainable tourism required the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders and strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building.
Mohammed said government would collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that the sector delivers its promise of a more equitable, productive and prosperous returns to the global community.
He stressed that sustainability is absolutely necessary if tourism is to achieve its full potential, which include being a catalyst for economic growth and poverty eradication.
Referring to the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day, which is ‘Sustainable Tourism, Tool for Development’, Mohammed said the member states of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) are encouraged to ensure that their policies and actions for tourism development and management fully embrace the principles of sustainability.
He said without sustainability, tourism cannot generate benefits to all stakeholders, tackle extreme poverty and preserve precious natural and man-made resources on which human prosperity is based.
‘’The sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established among these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability,’’ Mohammed said.
The minister noted that the United Nations General Assembly designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, underscoring its power to help eradicate poverty in the context of the universal 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
‘’Tourism was singled out in three of the 17 sustainable development goals of sustainable economic growth and decent employment, sustainable production and consumption, and the conservation and sustainable use of oceans (Goals 8,12 and 14). Today, tourism generates 10 per cent of the world’s GDP, one in every 10 jobs, and 30 per cent of world trade in services. It is key to many countries’ economies and livelihoods. It has evolved from an industry engaged in and patronised only by the rich and elites of the society to an industry enjoyed by all with significant impact on the country’s economy,’’ he said.
While underlining government’s desire to make Nigeria’s tourism industry flourish, he noted that the key to the actualisation lies with the industry itself and the businesses and organisations at its heart.
