Director General, Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, Dr. Olayiwola Awakan, speaks on efforts to transform Nigeria’s tourism industry. Charles Ajunwa brings excerpts
To promote tourism through film and storytelling, the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority set up engagement with key players across the creative industry. Can you throw more light on this?
Tourism and storytelling are naturally interconnected. Around the world, films, documentaries, music, and digital content have proven to be powerful tools for destination marketing. On assumption of office, I have always mentioned that Nigeria is a microcosm of stories, and this soft power should be leveraged for tourism promotion. Our engagement with sister agencies like the National Film and Video Censors Board, Nigerian Film Corporation, National Troupe of Nigeria, sub-national government and other key players in the creative industry is aimed at leveraging Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, landscapes, festivals, and historical assets through compelling narratives that can attract both domestic and international visitors.
NTDA is working to build strategic partnerships with filmmakers, content creators, producers, media organisations, and cultural stakeholders to ensure that Nigerian stories are authentically told and projected to global audiences. Through these collaborations, we intend to position Nigeria not just as a destination to visit but as a destination to experience through its people, culture, and creative expressions.
You came up with the idea of NITOUREY, a project designed to showcase Nigeria’s rich cultural and tourism heritage to a global audience through compelling multimedia storytelling. What’s the level of buy-in from stakeholders?
The response from stakeholders has been highly encouraging. NITOUREY was conceived as a digital platform to bridge the gap between Nigeria’s vast tourism assets and the global audience that increasingly consumes travel content online. As the first tourism dedicated streaming platform to revolutionalise the ecosystem in Nigeria and beyond, we have received positive interest from state governments, tourism operators, cultural institutions, content creators, development partners, and private-sector organisations. Many stakeholders recognise the importance of digital storytelling in today’s tourism ecosystem and have expressed willingness to contribute content, collaborate on campaigns, and support the project’s implementation. We remain committed to ensuring that NITOUREY becomes a collective national platform that reflects the diversity and richness of Nigeria’s tourism offerings. As a digital platform, we are partnering with the private sector like the JM Misa Inc and Tourcliq Creatives as well as our sister agency, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to deliver a national streaming platform for economic development. This we believe will be fully unveiled by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, GCFR.
As part of efforts to strengthen collaboration for cultural tourism promotion, you visited Igbobi-Sabe Kingdom. Can you throw more light on the visit?
The visit to Igbobi-Sabe Kingdom was part of NTDA’s broader strategy of engaging traditional institutions as custodians of Nigeria’s cultural heritage. Traditional rulers and communities play a critical role in preserving cultural assets, festivals, historical sites, and indigenous knowledge that form the foundation of cultural tourism. Also, in the NTDA Act there’s established Local Government Tourism Committee (LGTC) to be headed by the Local Government Chairman where traditional rulers are part of that committee basically for identifying tourism attractions within their localities and preservation of same.
Our discussions focused on opportunities for preserving and promoting the kingdom’s cultural heritage, strengthening community participation in tourism development, and exploring ways to package cultural assets for both domestic and international tourism markets. But specifically, we are planning to expand the scope of Gelede Festival into a global cultural tourism product. The visit also reinforced the importance of community-based tourism as a sustainable tool for economic development and cultural preservation.
NTDA recently joined forces with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) to advance tourism in Nigeria. What informed such a decision?
Tourism thrives on perception, reputation, and effective communication. The partnership with NIPR is therefore a strategic one aimed at strengthening the image and visibility of Nigeria as a preferred tourism destination. NIPR brings extensive expertise in strategic communication, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, and public advocacy. Through this collaboration, we intend to develop innovative communication strategies that will promote Nigeria’s tourism assets, improve destination branding, and encourage greater domestic and international tourism patronage. It is a partnership driven by a shared commitment to national development and economic diversification. In specific terms, we are collaborating with them on the Global Public Relations Forum that will host experts across over 150 countries in Nigeria. This partnership also will allow these PR experts across the world to participate in the Naija Flavour International Tourism (NAFITO) Expo, which NTDA has curated with relevant stakeholders in private sector. These events of global reputation will hold in November.
Also, tourism communication is important especially at destinations and attractions that appear injurious to prospective tourists as DOs and DON’Ts at such destinations. This is vital for the integrity of the destination and the safety of the tourists
Insecurity poses a great threat to the promotion of major cultural festivals across the country. Huge revenues are lost because tourists are afraid of losing their lives. What practical steps have you taken to address this issue?
Security remains a key consideration in tourism development globally, and Nigeria is no exception. While NTDA is not a security agency, we work closely with relevant security institutions, state governments, local authorities, and event organisers to promote safer tourism experiences. Our approach includes encouraging destination risk assessments, advocating improved security coordination during major tourism events, promoting tourism destinations with established safety measures, and supporting stakeholder capacity building on safety and crisis management. We are also strengthening collaboration with state governments to improve infrastructure, visitor information systems, and emergency response mechanisms. Also, at NTDA we have a department called the National Travel Bureau which is saddled with the responsibility of curating tours and also liaising with tour operators that are accredited by her. Tourists and visitors alike are encouraged to through both NTB and accredited tour operators for guaranteed security at destinations and easy monitoring by NTDA.
Importantly, we continue to emphasise domestic tourism as a means of building confidence in destinations while supporting efforts by government at all levels to improve the overall security environment. We remain optimistic that sustained security improvements will further unlock the enormous economic potential of Nigeria’s tourism sector. We want Nigerians to always market the country and not de-market the nation.