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FG Signs Agreement to Host 2022 Global Tourism Conference
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Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The federal government has signed an agreement to host the first Global
Conference on Cultural Tourism and Creative Industry in Lagos from November 14 to 17, 2022.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, signed the agreement yesterday in Madrid, Spain, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili. He assured them that the country would put together a trailblasing event.
Mohammed described the signing of the agreement as the clearest indication yet of Nigeria’s commitment to hosting a successful conference officially entitled: ‘First UNWTO Global Conference on Linking Tourism, Culture and Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Inclusive Development’.
The minister said the conference would be held at the National Theatre in Lagos, which is currently being renovated at a cost of $100 million under a partnership between the federal government and the Bankers’ Committee/Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He said the conference would form a part of the events to formally declare open the National Theatre, the iconic edifice which is undergoing its first renovation in over four decades, in addition to witnessing the construction of new hubs for fashion, information technology, film and music.
The minister said the global conference would affirm Nigeria’s status as the hub of the creative industry in Africa, and help reposition the Cultural Tourism and Creative Industry as the engine of growth not just for Nigeria or Africa but indeed the world.
Mohammed said the conference would boost the creative industries, which according to the UN, generate annual revenues of $2.25 trillion and account for 30 million jobs worldwide.
He commended the UNWTO for coming up with the conference and also for giving Nigeria the hosting rights.
On his part, the UNWTO Secretary-General, Pololikashvili, assured him that the UN agency would immediately kick-start a global publicity campaign for the event as part of efforts to ensure its success.
The signing was witnessed by the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Mr. Demola Seriki, and the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr. Folorunsho Coker, among others.