Home News NIHOTOUR Masterclass: Experts charge ANJET On emerging challenges in Nigerian tourism

NIHOTOUR Masterclass: Experts charge ANJET On emerging challenges in Nigerian tourism

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Otunba Runsewe speaking

By ANDREW OKUNGBOWA

Experts in the travel and tourism industry have charged members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET) on meeting and responding effectively to emerging challenges Nigeria tourism sector of the economy by advancing and proffering solutions which will engender growth for both operators and regulators.

NCAC DG,Otunba Segun Runsewe speaking at the NIHOTOUR Masterclass for ANJET

This admonition was the canvassed by speakers at the recently held one-day Tourism Journalism Masterclass for ANJET, organised by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja.

The masterclass session with the theme, Best Practices for Journalistic Reporting of Tourism Destinations, featured three experts in the industry; Olorogun (Dr) Peter Igho, former Director at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Mr David Dogo and Otunba Segun Runsewe, Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC).

Declaring the one-day training open, Director-General of NIHOTOUR, Ahaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, disclosed his agency’s continued support for capacity building as an imperative for stakeholders in the industry, including the media practitioners, which he said is anchored on the need to adhere to industry best practices.

“We are trying to grow our own industry operations by exposing them to best practices around the world,” Kangiwa said, while also assuring that the next edition of the event will strive to better this year’s rendition.Peter Igho: Be partners in socio-economic, political development.

Setting the tone for the masterclass, Igho, who is credited with creating iconic television series like, the 1990s ‘Cock Crow At Dawn,’ drew instances from his experiences with leveraging on contents created at the broadcasting station to manage and showcase Nigeria as a tourist destination many years back.In his paper titled, Tourism Crises Communication – The Role of Media Practitioners, Igho noted that the present-day journalists in the tourism industry are also presented with similar challenges he faced many years down many years ago as a television producer and video content creator.

Dr Peter Igho

Igho stated that being the fourth estate of the realm, ‘the media is duty bound as a partner in Nigeria’s socio-political development,’ as according to him, ‘‘there is a need to be in the frontline and be patriotic when the country encounters challenges and in Nigeria this means all the time.’’

Citing instances of the former Military Head of State, Late General Sani Abacha’s regime, the NTA icon recalled how he created programmes like ‘Not in our character,’ to counter negative information designed to destroy Nigeria as a tourist destination.“The media must keep the spotlight on the whole tourism value chain. It is pertinent to note that risk by its very nature, exists on a continuum and is either smoothed by risk mitigation initiatives (which the media is an integral stakeholder) or amplified and shaped by the socio-political, environmental, and economic backdrop,” Igho said.

The veteran television producer said the role of the media in promoting tourism in times of crisis entails promoting, ‘‘risk mitigation initiatives and amplify the tourism potential of Nigeria, with a view to attracting foreign and domestic tourists to patronise the Nigerian tourism industry.’’

Igho, who is presently the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, P.I. Consult, however, commended NIHOTOUR for organising the training. He noted that the NIHOTOUR training programme for travel journalists is designed to enhance human capital development in the media industry, as its ‘‘seeks to promote Nigeria as the best cultural tourist destination, not only in Africa but indeed in the world,’’ he added.

In his paper titled, Journalism Code of Ethics and the Impact on Sustainable Tourism Destination, Dr David Manya Dogo, drew a fine line between ethics and values, as they relate to tourism reporting and media content management.It is difficult to separate ethics from values because they are two sides of the same coin, as both, he noted, “may differ in terms of their motif force, but their ultimate goal is to ensure a desirable human behaviour.

Panellists at the recently concluded held one-day Tourism Journalism Masterclass for ANJET, organised by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) at the International Conference Centre (ICC), June 16 in Abuja

“Ethics are moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or conduct of an activity.In a broader sense, ethics reflect on human beings and their interaction with nature and with other humans. In other words, a behaviour is said to be ethical when it is morally correct from the standpoint of those whose actions are guided by a set of moral principles.“Values on the other hand are individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or the other, and serve to guide human behaviour.

“In other words, they are moral standards of behaviour. Values are things that are considered ‘important’ by an individual or an organisation.They are therefore an embodiment of what an organisation or people stand for, and provides the basis for the behaviour of its members.”

Dogo while noting that a tourism writer’s role in the growth and sustenance of the industry in Nigeria is very critical and should not be underestimated, pointed out that best practices in journalistic reporting of tourist destinations require strict observance of journalism ethics, demonstration of effective communication skills and good knowledge of the industry.

“The great potentials of tourism as a key contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the reason you must work with other industry players and stakeholders to make it sustainable and profitable,” he stated.

According to him, for a journalist to effectively contribute to sustainable tourism development in Nigeria, professionalism must be adopted.“Your role as a journalist can only be impactful if you are truly professional in carrying out your work,’’ he said. Stating further, ‘‘as influencers and conscience of the society, you only earn the respect and confidence of the people when you conduct your journalism in the most professional manner.In projecting Nigeria positively, you need to appreciate that Nigeria is a huge tourist destination in Africa with great potentials for growth.

“As journalists and tourism writers, you need to constantly set the agenda for public discourse and conversation around the issue of tourism.Issues to be raised should include environmental sustainability, cultural preservation and long term socio-economic benefits. “Promote and market tourist destinations, which entail raising brand awareness using different media platforms.“Also, in the national interest, instead of criticising tourism policies and actions, it is necessary that you seek audience or make inquiries to establish facts on ground about what is being done or what should be done.

“Although Nigeria is facing security challenges, it is necessary to assure tourists, through your reporting and writing, that it is not true that the entire country is engulfed by insecurity.

The greater part of the country is still safe for tourist visit. Put out information that will boost the confidence of tourists.” Concluding his presentation, Dogo noted that Nigerian journalists and tourism writers are critical stakeholders in the promotion of sustainable tourism development.This is as he stated that, “among other things, they have a duty to raise awareness on the great potentials and benefits of the tourism industry in growing the Nigerian economy.

“However, for them to make the desired impact, they must observe the journalism code of ethics while using effective communication skills to disseminate information on tourism. “The ultimate goal is to ensure that national interest overrides any primordial interests in promoting the tourism industry.”

Otunba Segun Runsewe: Effective communication, networking necessary for tourism growth

Delivering his paper titled, Tourism Communication: Bridging the Public and Private Sector Communication Gap, Runsewe, charged ANJET members to continue to perform as change agents and influencers in the tourism industry, as according to him, Nigeria deserves to be a top destination in Africa, and the world.He also advocated a centralised indus- try engagement platform driven by the tourism media where critical issues on the sector could be examined and solutions proffered, adding that such forum would engender effective collaboration and co- competition desirable to build a strong cultural tourism economy.

Runsewe noted that, “for communication to be effective, the communicator must have a firm grip of the subject matter. Since you cannot give what you do not have, it follows naturally that you cannot communicate what you do not understand.

“Communication in the tourism sector is therefore of critical importance in promoting and marketing destinations, attracting tourists and building robust relationship among the various stakeholders involved in the tourism business.

‘‘It is important to point out that tourism is the fastest growing export industry accounting for about 330 million people worldwide. In a competitive environment where tourism has to cater for the diverse range of visitors in order to maintain the market positions, strategic communication in tourism is imperative.

“The tourism industry is competitive. Therefore, effective communication and networking are necessary to draw attention to the facilities and resources in a destination in order to attract potential visitors.This can be achieved by targeting the right audience with the right message on what can make experience memorable in a particular destination.”

The NCAC boss also advocated for media practitioners to drive strategic partnership among key stakeholders and operators in tourism sector of the economy.

Runsewe further charged the media to position themselves for the task of agenda setting in the industry, in addition to leading the charge in the change campaign, which he posited, would reposition the industry and its operators for effective exploration of its potentials.

He commended NIHOTOUR’s DG, Kangiwa, for, ‘‘sustaining the tourism media training masterclass series over the years. Nura Kangiwa is moving the tourism and hospitality vocational training intervention to the next level.‘‘I must commend his interest in encouraging the best practices of tourism journalism without which Nigeria will not take its rightful place in the history of tourism comity of nations.”

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