Mohammed, Amaechi, Sirika, Others for Transport Tourism Expo

As operators and different stakeholders in tourism and transport sector converge on Abuja next week for the second edition of the Transport Tourism Summit and Expo 2019, the organisers have released a list of specials and awards expected at the event.

Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, who is the president of the Institute of Tourism Professionals (ITP), the body in charge of the summit, said the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, would be giving the keynote address, which has a theme: ‘Tourism and Transportation Interdependencies for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development’.

Some government officials and practitioners across tourism and transport sectors have been announced as awardees for the gala and award night of the summit, which is billed to hold between April 29 and 30 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. The list includes Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika; and Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman.

Other awardees are: The President and Founder of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, Director Generals of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe and Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Folorunsho Folarin-Coker, President/CEO of Transcorp Group Inc, Valentine Ozigbo, and Chief Samuel Alabi of Eko Hotels and Suites.

According to Odusanwo, the two-day gathering offers ‘‘opportunity to forge the desired synergy between tourism and other vital lined sectors, especially of transportation. Tourism and transport connectivity are critical issues relating to bridging transport and tourism policies while reaffirming the need for developing programmes of inter-ministerial cooperation between bodies responsible for tourism and transport so as to improve and strengthen the basic conditions for the sustainable development of both industries.”

‘‘The National Tourism Transport Summit is created to deliberate on the complex relationship between transport provision and tourism in boosting the economy of both sectors. Participants at the two-day event will be drawn from major key players and stakeholders in the transportation and tourism sectors from the international community in critical areas,” he added.