The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) have strengthened their collobaration in a bid to enhance the nation’s economy via tourism.
Both groups reached this decision when the Director General, NCAC, Otunba Segun Runsewe hosted the newly elected executives of the NATOP, who paid him a courtesy visit, recently.
Otunba Runsewe said NCAC is wide open to support moves aimed at revamping tourism economy for the nation, even as he congratulated the newly elected NATOP executives on their victory.
The NCAC boss, expressed delight on the visit which he said will cement the already existing relationship between the NCAC and NATOP, thereby, improving the country’s Gross Domectic Product (GDP) through tourism.
Runsewe stated that one of the ways a tour operator breaks even is to establish partnership with other tour operators in other parts of the world to aid their operations in packaging with good cultural content that will make a difference.
He, however, lamented the situation where the dream of the association has not been fully brought to fruition owing to the low level of marketing of the nation’s cultural content.
“Our culture is very rich. It is therefore your responsibility to package and market our rich cultural heritage and make it more attractive to the world” Runsewe said.
The Director General revealed that owing to the important role NATOP plays in marketing the good cultural potentials of Nigeria, Tour Operators will be given a special platform during this year’s National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) holding in Lagos next month to enhance it’s activities.
Speaking earlier, the newly elected President of the association, Mrs. Ime Udoh said they were in the culture headquarters to introduce the new executive of the association and thank Otunba Runsewe for his immense contributions to the development of the Culture and Tourism sector and to tap from his wealth of experience.
Ime stated that as the umbrella body of all tour operators in the country, the onus is on the association to market the country and the best tourist sites in the world given all its God-given potentials.
“We want to leverage on the Council to succeed. We are here to synergize and collaborate with the NCAC to portray our country as the best tourist destination in the world by selling rich culture and heritage and transform the sector to be the oil that should drive the economy,” she posited.