The President of the National Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) Alhaja Bolaji Mustapha has said her associations is poised to sell Ondo as a tourist destination and also promote other states in Nigeria to boost domestic tourism in generate revenue for locals and government. This, she said, would encourage Nigerians to explore the country and enjoy the rich tourism assets of the country.

Mustapha said this as the special guest of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism’s (ANJET) interactive forum, ANJET Breakfast Meeting. She said this desire to promote Destination Ondo informed the decision of NATOP executives to move the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM), a non-elective AGM, to Akure, Ondo State. She used the opportunity to thank the Ondo State Governor Mr. Lucky Aiyedatewa for his support towards hosting the AGM. She said: “for decades now, we have been promoting this destination Nigeria. The effect is coming out now. People are beginning to see and understand those things that we are trying to put out. For our own tenure now, I and the executives, we have been working very hard to identify new tourism sites, and promote them to the world, and also advise the government on how we can actually promote them so that people can have other places to go. We identify, and then we make it a product and put it out to the world.”

She said NATOP executives had a meeting with the governor and that he was enthusiastic towards the state hosting the tour operators. She continued: “We went round to actually see some of the venues where we going to be using. We had gone to Ondo town on familiarization trip as part of our tradition of visiting states to identify which state that we are going to. We try to identify some products and tell the people in charge how they can improve these sites, how they can make them viable for us to sell.

“We went to La Campagne Forest, Hills and Caves in Ondo town. It was Otunba Wanle Akinboboye that took us there. It was a mind-blowing for me, that how can we have this kind of thing… for the first time having a breakfast on a very beautiful hill, on top of the mountain. It is just amazing. That kind of thing, if we have it in South Africa, I am sure all of us will pay our ways to go and see those amazing things. Why can’t we promote what we have? Those are the kind inspiring things for me, to say we work with somebody like him to project those types of projects. There are other places but we couldn’t get there. We have Idanre Hills, the Araromi beach front which the governor was telling us is the longest coastal line in Nigeria. We put it as part of our itinerary that we will be doing at the AGM, and some other beautiful sites. We have the Nibalola Resort, a farm on 500 acres of land, you have a hotel, overlooking a lake , golf course and at the same time overlooking a farm which is sitting on a 500 acre, and nobody is talking about it. So, that is our job. That is why we have to go out there. Without NATOP, we won’t be able to see all these things. It helps us to see Nigeria and encourage Nigerians to move around the country. Moving around, we realized that even as we are as Nigerians, we don’t know Nigeria. We don’t travel within. Those are the kind of things that we are able to do. We need to start traveling within Nigeria. NATOP is really working very hard to make sure that Destination Nigeria and tourism within Nigeria grows beyond what it is.”

Mustapha said her association is trying to work with a lot of governments and other stakeholders to tell the Nigerian story correctly. “Let us project our positives to the world so that other people can see the positives about the country, she said.

Speaking further on the tourism assets in Nigeria and the opportunities, the NATOP President added: “Recently we came back from Akwa Ibom where we attended the FTAN council meeting; It was also an amazing thing out there. A lot is actually happening out there. Experiencing Ibom is a new package. We actually need to experience Akwa Ibom. Experience Nigeria and all that we have, you start asking question why am I going to pay my way to go and look at one Sun city, they are doing an artificial lake, and so on. Akwa Ibom is another destination to sell. I will also add to it the Ilorin Durbar. It is coming up, and I am working with the committee chairman on that. There are some packages that I am selling telling people to come and watch. This year, the beautiful about the Ilorin Durbar is that they are showcasing authentic culture. You see where people wear that attire, riding horses; you will see it live and direct. It happens the third day after the Eid. The package is Explore Kwara: A thirst of Kwara with GET Centre. It will happen around that time. We need to start talking about all these things.”

Mustapha said promoting Nigeria as a tourist destination comes with its own challenges. She explained: “Some of these sites need to be developed and upgraded. That is why the government needs to work closely with the stakeholders. The stakeholders are the ones liaising with the tourists. At the end of the day, when we go, we identify those products and we promote it. You find out that when these places and are being renovated or upgraded, they exclude the input of stakeholders which is one major issue that we have. That is one of the things that the government needs to look into critically that is working with the stakeholders in the industry.

“The people on ground need to also know that about the business of tour operation and know that a tour operator is there for business. They should not get the same rate as what anybody can come in and get. It doesn’t work that way. There is nowhere or anywhere in the world that you, the tour operator, pay an entrance fee with the guests you marketed to bring to the site. These are some of the things we are trying to educated those in charge of these sites, even the hotel owners. Although some are beginning to understand that tour operators are actually the ones doing the job, and as such, let us give them some discount. Before, there is nothing like that. We are hoping that we will get more people to work with us. So, those are some of the challenges that we are have.”