By Onyeka Ezike

The President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Nkereweum Onung, has presented the performance record of his administration, highlighting key achievements, setbacks, and prospects for the future of tourism in Nigeria.

Onung, who appeared on Villa Square, a special segment of Creative Nigeria — a weekly cultural tourism magazine program on Mainland 98.3 FM, Lagos, described his tenure as a journey of navigating complex and diverse member interests, while championing policies to reposition the tourism sector.

Anchored by renowned tourism journalist Frank Meke and Bunmi Bade Adeniji, the engaging session featured Onung reflecting on major themes such as standardization, policy development, and legal frameworks.

“When we reflect on this regime, you look at some of the things we tried to push, like the standardization and policy for the industry, which has been a challenge,” he said. “I got involved with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and ECOWAS, but all of these take a process before they become a reality.”

Onung noted that despite some progress, legislative bottlenecks continued to hamper tourism development in Nigeria.
“Most times, people think tourism is on the residual list. It is not on the concurrent list, and we had an unfortunate court judgment in 2013. But I believe tourism is a national concern, and we must work on better laws,” he stated.

He emphasized that the government must begin to see tourism as a sustainable sector with vast economic potential.
“Oil will finish. But we must deliberately begin to fund tourism if we are serious about diversifying our economy,” he added.

Onung, who also serves as the Senior Special Adviser on Tourism and Culture to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, revealed that FTAN has developed strategic frameworks to improve the tourism experience nationwide. These include the adoption of technology and innovative solutions to elevate service delivery across the industry.

Speaking on FTAN’s recent decision to boycott the United Nations Tourism Africa Commission’s engagement, Onung said it was prompted by the federal government’s lack of meaningful consultation with the private sector.
“Often, the government assumes the private sector will tag along. But the real issue is getting the government to meaningfully engage and include private sector voices in planning and implementation,” he said.

Calling for a more coordinated and inclusive approach to tourism development, Onung noted:
“As a nation, we need to do better. We have a huge advantage with our population — the most populous Black nation in the world — but if we don’t leverage that for, growth, it won’t help us.”

He reiterated the need for articulated policies and adequate funding to unlock private sector investment, stressing the importance of metrics to track tourism’s contribution to GDP and national development.
“We’ve tried to keep stakeholder engagement very active. We have also undertaken several standardization efforts to raise the bar within the sector,” he said.

Also featured on the program was Marvellous Dada, Youth Ambassador and President of Tourism and Hospitality Mentorship for Development (TMD), who shared his personal journey from student disinterest to becoming a passionate advocate for tourism education and youth engagement.

“As a student, I didn’t enjoy hospitality until I got hands-on experience. That changed everything. I began to mobilize friends and colleagues to build something that would ignite purpose in students like us,” Dada said.

According to him, TMD currently operates across 20 institutions, reaching over 5,000 students.
“We connect with schools in the tourism, hospitality, and transportation sectors. Our goal is to extend beyond annual events and institutionalize continuous learning,” he noted.

Dada explained that TMD runs a virtual mentorship program where professionals across fields train and inspire students to pursue careers in the industry with confidence and purpose.

Also speaking during the session was former NANTA President, Susan Akporiaye, who addressed issues surrounding the upcoming FTAN elections. She focused on the conference theme: Tourism Policy, Implementation, Promotions, and Governance — The Stake of the Private Sector, which she said underscores the communication gap between government and private stakeholders.

“There’s a disconnect that leads to misrepresentation of interests and policy failure. What’s missing is consistent and transparent communication between both sides,” she asserted.

The Villa Square segment continues to provide a platform for stakeholders in Nigeria’s tourism industry to exchange ideas and propose actionable solutions for sectoral growth.