[By VICTOR NZE]
Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) industry operators from both the private and public divide have re-emphasised the imperative of collaboration, synergy of purpose and activity-driven agenda by all players industry for any meaningful growth to be achieved in the long term quest to reposition the Nigerian economy.
(From left): President, HOFA, Mrs Funmi Kazeem; FTAN 1sr Deputy President, Alhaji Aliyu Badaki; High Commissioner of Botswana to Nigeria and Lead Paper Presenter, Mrs Philda Kereng; FTAN 2nd Deputy President, Mrs Susan Akporiaye during the just-concluded 27th AGM of FTAN, at the Rockview Royal Hotel, Abuja, Tuesday
Speaking during the panel session organised on the sidelines of the just-concluded Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), in Abuja, last Tuesday, experts expressed concerns over the present duplicity, multiplicity of regulators, regulations, respectively, in addition to the seeming lack of a single window for operational guidelines for investors and start-ups in the industry.
The industry experts drawn from both the private and public sectors of the T&H industry in the country, further lamented the absence of clear and accessible financing windows for operators or ignorance on the part of the latter in requisite set skills required to access existing opportunities.
The panel discussants included those from the public sector, including; Mr Friday Anumba, the Special Adviser on Special Duties to the Director General, Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), and Mr Philip Maga, the Special Adviser to the Director General, National Institute for Tourism and Hospitality.
From the private sector featured practitioners like; Mrs Susan Akporiaye, the immediate past President, Nigeria Association of Tour Operators; Barrister (Mrs) Funmi Kazeem, President, Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA), Mr Samson Aturu, President, Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN).
Discussing the theme of the AGM, which is; The role of the private sector in the development of tourism in Nigeria,’ the panelists agreed that there remains the need for all players in the industry to share common grounds of operations and collaborate for the sector to grow despite the seeming challenges identified as dearth of inclusive monitoring and administration of regulatory policies.
Other challenges identified by the experts include; the duplicity and multiplicity of regulators and regulations, respectively, which the experts agreed was stifling investment opportunities for the country.
Others listed included; over-taxation, lack of inclusivity in policy formulation processes by the public sector regulators, lack of a comprehensive regulatory framework to guide operations in the industry, inaccessibility of financing for industry operators.
According to Mrs Akporiaye, private sector operators are not competing but complementing the public sector in helping to drive their policies.
“They (regulators) make it look as if we are competing with them. We are the ones at the frontline in the charge to drive the tourism sector, so we deserve to be carried along during the policy formulation processes.
“We as operators should also seek to effect a change in the way we do business and our relationship with goverment. We should investigate policies, with a view to exploring opportunities for our business development goals,” she stated.
For Mr Aturu, there must exist a mutually beneficial relationship between the private and the public sector operators for sustainable growth to take place, just as he posited that goverment must develop a proper regulatory framework guiding both operators and regulators in the industry, which presently is absent.
“Presently, that is not available. But for this industry to grow, there has to a uniform body regulating the practice in the sector. Tourism in Nigeria has become an all-comers terrain, which is inimical to sustainable growth and development,” Aturu said, further adding that collaboration between all players is the key to sustainable growth in the sector.
On her part, Mrs Kazeem insisted government must carry the private sector operators along in the process of policy making, just as she decried the high-level of taxation on tourism business operators and other investors in the sector by government agencies at various levels.
“The public sector must carry us along in the processes of policy formulation. We are never informed on policies until they are eventually promulgated and then implementation and enforcement become a problem for everybody. And then of course, they run back to us to seek a way out.
“There’s a need for the private and public sectors to foster a harmonious working relations through collaborations and constant engagements with us. Government agencies at the public sector should recognise our opinions and positions on key issues before promulgating policies which are then seen as detrimental to our businesses,” she added.
On the way forward, Mr Anumba enumerated suggestions bothering on capacity building for operators to raise their skills levels in line with global best practices, even as he called for a single window system for regulations and registration/certification of businesses, constant stakeholder engagements, inclusivity, tax breaks and waivers for private sector operators.
Corroborating, Kazeem called for a moratorium on taxes on operators, as she also revisited the matter of interventions released by the federal government for businesses as palliatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We the private sector operators do everything with our own resources. We beautify our environment, provide our business with our own source of electricity, we provide value to our sector, but we are over-taxed.
“The public sector regulators are strangulating us with numerous and outrageous levies and taxes. And it’s too much to bear. For any significant contribution to come from us, government has to to attend to our needs.
“We are making an appeal to the appropriate agencies and bodies in government to please release our palliatives and other interventions and stimulus made available by the federal government during the COVID-19 era to sustain or help businesses recover from the losses.
Contributing to the discussion, President of FTAN, Mr Nkereuwem Onung, expressed the worry over arbitrary incursions into the T&H industry by agencies outside the sector to constantly harass tourism business owners with levies and questionable regulations, as he suggested that an action now needs to be taken at the public sector level.
Continuing, Onung noted that with the autonomy now given to the local governments in the country, the situation may not get any better.
“From what is happening to our businesses now, it appears this is no longer our fight. We may now need to get the agencies to sit and resolve the issue of regulations at that level. This is probably no longer our fight. Let them resolve it their own way.
“My worry is that with the new autonomy had over to the local government areas in the country, these incursions and other arbitrary regulations already before us may worsen. So we need the public sector operators to resolve this problem among themselves,” Onung said.
Mr Maga, while speaking, implored the private sector operators to avail themselves of the many windows of opportunities in financing for their businesses, even as he decried the lack of awareness on the part of business owners on the existence of these aids.
According to him; “Many financing opportunities are out there at the public sector level, but it seems many do not even know about this. And even if they know, they refuse to explore those windows but instead rely on government direct grants or occasional payouts.”
Earlier, in her opening address, the minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, noted that private sector business owners play a crucial role in actualizing Nigeria’s immense tourism potential.
According to the minister who was represented at the event by the Acting Director, Domestic Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Mr Bisong Sunday, the private sector operators work to drive the country’s T&H industry.
“This potential serves as the engine that drives innovation, investment, and excellence in service delivery within the tourism Industry, from the development of world-class hotels and resorts to the creation of unique cultural experiences and the promotion of sustainable tourism practices,” the minister said.
According to the minister, the theme of FTAN’s AGM is intended ‘to explore and reinforce the synergies between the private sector and the government,’ as she further stated that ‘collaboration and strategic partnerships are key to overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities in the Tourism Sector.’
“It is through these alliances that we can ensure the provision of high-quality services, infrastructure development, and the creation of jobs for the overall economic growth and development of our beloved nation,” Ade-John stressed.
Highlights of the just-concluded AGM of the association include; the ratification of former President of the FTAN, Alhaji Munzali Dantata as the substantive Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) after two months in an acting capacity following the resignation of Chief Samuel Alabi earlier.
Similarly, the AGM had unanimously nominated President of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters Of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Dr Ganiyu ‘Tarzan’ Balogun as a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) to fill the vacancy created following the resignation of Chief Alabi.
Remarking, in his earlier welcome address, Mr Onung explained that in choosing the theme for this year’s AGM, the association was also acknowledging efforts made by the private in tourism development in Nigeria, including job creation Infrastructure development, even as he noted that for sustainable growth to firm, the public sector operators need to play their part.
“Rather than make laws to tax and take toll from our businesses, we would like to see government being decisive on appropriate visa policy, stimulate market demands with appropriate marketing strategies, invest in tourism assets/attractions, fix the roads, provide security, maintain peace,” Onung said.
The next AGM of the association comes up in 2025 and will be an elective one, with the expiration of tenure of the current executive committee members.
