As Nigeria prepares to celebrate her golden jubilee on October 1, the National Vice President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), South-South Zone, Mr. Andy Ehanire  has expressed worry over the poor state of tourism infrastructures in the country.

He  warned  that without proactive measures being put in place by government to  appraise  tourist sites across the country, standards could drop to such levels that, even the few UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nigeria, may unwittingly fall short of their billing

Mr. Ehanire, therefore, urged the relevant government agencies saddled with tourism responsibilities to routinely carry out an audit of tourism infrastructures, aimed at getting more tourist sites on the list of national monuments, adding that institutionalizing such audits processes for tourist sites, including festivals in the various geo_political zones across the country would put them on their toes.

He noted that  the emerging shifts in paradigms, whereby community life and rustic local scenes have become prime tourism products would enable local communities to create wealth through tourism.

He called on the federal government to refocus on socio_cultural engineering for the transformation of the grassroots levels, saying that programmes aimed at community initiatives be incorporated into tourism schemes to give the host communities a sense of ownership, with view to making  tourism  products sustainable and environment friendly.

Ehanire noted that the application of cost-effective approaches to tourism development will go a long way in helping to actualize the desired institutional support for transforming the  tourism landscapes, which have remained largely uninspiring over time, while reiterating the urgent need for the various tourism administrative structures at the state and local government levels to be brought on board, including the private sector stakeholders, to make tourism schemes sustainable.

Ehanire said   Nigeria’s vast heritage resources make it one of the most endowed on the African continent,  adding that there was urgent need for NTDC to take proactive measures by beginning to identify selected tourist sites in the country  for support with a view to making entries in some major international tourism best practice awards.

He explained that a National Tourism Merit Award Scheme as instituted by FTAN should be supported to stimulate healthy competition among practitioners in the industry which would encourage,  as well as provide a springboard for those sufficiently functionally in the industry to participate in competitive international awards and sponsorship grants

While acknowledging the challenge of reawakening and enhancing the huge cultural and ecological heritages in the country, Mr.  Ehanire  called for the promotion of domestic tourism for cross-cultural exchange among the various ethnic nationalities, with a view to exploring the attendant socio_economic benefits for national integration and cohesion, which end result is peaceful coexistence among all tribes.

He regretted that while there are  so few tourist sites in the country that could measure up with international standards, especially the UNESCO parameters for World Heritage listing, the two already listed may be prone delisting, informing that “Spain only has more than 300 UNESCO listed sites, while Turkey has about 55, and probably still counting. A small country like Croatia is boasting of fourteen UNESCO Sites and there are many examples around the world.
“Our tourist sites rarely emerge on the medal’s table in international tourism competitions. Recently, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) rolled out its 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, in which some destinations on the African continent emerged qualifiers for the prestigious awards, but Nigeria was conspicuous by its absence from the list” he lamented.

Mr Ehanire said there were international grants which accompany recognition for exemplary stewardship in heritage conservation and social responsibility in tourism, which could help in no small measure at further restoring, upgrading and promoting such destinations to serve as a catalyst for UNESCO Heritage Listing.