MADRID- The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has proposed Maiduguri, Borno, for the hosting of its international conference on “Tourism as Tool for Peace and Reconciliation’’.
The Secretary-General of the world tourism body, Mr Taleb Rifai, disclosed this on Tuesday in Madrid, Spain at a meeting with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The Minister is in Madrid for a two-day meeting with UNWTO on development of the nation’s tourism sector.
The meeting is expected to conclude the framework for the development of a two-year programme of technical assistance by UNWTO for the nation’s tourism sector.
Rifai said the proposed conference would be a convergence of critical stakeholders in the tourism sector, particularly, from Africa, to fashion out ways to use tourism to develop the North-East region, devastated by Boko Haram insurgency.
He said the conference which would be fashioned alongside that held in Tanzania, would help to rebuild the image of Nigeria and attract investors in the tourism sector.
Rifai, who described tourism as “a tool for peace and reconciliation’’, said the conference would go a long way to build on the success recorded by the Federal Government on the war against terrorism.
The UNWTO secretary-general also said that his organisation would assist Nigeria in the review of its tourism master plan to make it adaptable to the current trend.
The master plan designed in 2006 with the assistance of the UNWTO, according to information minister, had not been implemented by previous administrations.
The master plan designed 10 years back identified five tourism clusters for development, including the Conference Capital (FCT, Nasarawa, etc) and Sahara Gateway (old Kano city wall, drying pit, etc).
The others are Scenic Nature (Museum and traditional architecture), Atlantic Gateway (Olokola Resort) and Tropical Rainforest (Obudu ranch resort).
Mohammed welcomed the offer by the world tourism body, stressing that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has identified tourism as one of sectors for diversification of the nation’s economy.
He briefed Rifai and his team on the efforts made so far by the administration in fighting insecurity, addressing corruption and fixing the economy.
Mohammed noted that Boko Haram had been decapitated and government was concentrating on rebuilding and resettlement in the region.
He said the conference would be a catalyst for the development of tourism in the country.
Mr Taleb Rifai
