National President of the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN), Chief Abiodun Odusanwo has praised President Bola Tinubu for creating a stand-alone tourism ministry for the country. He described the action as ‘a very key and strategic move by the government to embrace tourism as a major driver of socio-economic growth of the country.’

Odusanwo said the industry never had it this good for a stand-alone tourism not attached with any burden of responsibility except tourism and tourism alone, noting that government has really taken the bull by the horns in becoming the unifying and rallying point for all private sector operators in the sector to look up to for the provision of better policy directives and the provision of necessary infrastructure for Nigeria to be transformed into a compelling, highly competitive and preferred destination.

In a congratulatory letter to the newly appointed Minister of Tourism, Ms. Lola Ade-John, Odusanwo urged her to bring her vast and wealth of experience as an IT specialist and astute finance and resource manager to bear in running the ministry so that the country can fully tap and benefit from the enormous socio-economic potentials of the nation’s tourism resources.

He said Nigeria is greatly endowed with huge tourism potentials waiting to be tapped, urging the Minister to see her appointment as a clarion call to grow and develop the country’s tourism resources via the creative application of modern technology which is capable of generating great revenue, creating job opportunities, fighting poverty and revamping the ailing national economy, stating that while the private sector operators are the orchestra in their respective fields of callings, government remains the conductor providing the sense of vision, coordinating competitive marketing intelligence, the executional insights and the ability to bring members of the orchestra together to achieve the desired national goals that the tourism industry stands to offer.

Odusanwo stated that industry players and critical stakeholders in the sector look up to the minister to run the affairs of the ministry with that ‘orchestra-conductor’ relationship with the objective of re-positioning the ministry as a viable government body for purposeful leadership guidance and direction, functional policy formulations, and implementable high-tech solutions that will create the enabling environment for operators of the industry at both public and private sector levels to thrive.

‘The call for a stand-alone tourism ministry has been on for a very long time now, but coming to the rescue with the creation of the Tourism Ministry by the administration of President Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, it is hoped that the Renewed Hope Agenda of his Government will truly breath a renewed hope in the Nigerian tourism industry for better performance in the nation’s socio-economic facet’, he adduced. He noted further that the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria.