Fagade calls for skills, institutions and coordination to convert attractions into wealth, seeks deeper Nigeria-China cooperation
By Danjuma Amodu
The Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, NIHOTOUR, Dr. Abisoye Fagade, has said Nigeria’s tourism sector can become a major driver of economic diversification, job creation and human capital development if properly positioned.
Fagade stated this yesterday in Abuja at a seminar on China’s tourism development experience organised by the Chinese Cultural Centre in partnership with NIHOTOUR and the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, NTDA.
He said Nigeria possesses the culture, people and destinations needed for a globally competitive tourism industry, but noted that the country must move beyond possessing attractions to building the skills, institutions and infrastructure required to convert them into sustainable economic value.
“This seminar comes at a particularly significant time for Nigeria. Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our nation is pursuing a new economic direction in which job creation, human capital development, enterprise, investment and diversification are central. Tourism has a critical role to play in that vision,” Fagade said.
The NIHOTOUR DG, who recently participated in a tourism development programme in Beijing, said China’s experience showed that tourism could be deliberately deployed for economic development, rural revitalisation, cultural preservation and community prosperity.
“Nigeria has the culture. Nigeria has the people. Nigeria has the destinations. What we now need is the capacity, coordination and commitment to turn these assets into prosperity,” he said.
Fagade stressed that strengthening professionalism in hospitality and tourism was key to the transformation, adding that the NIHOTOUR Act provides a foundation for skills development and institutional capacity.
“Our responsibility at NIHOTOUR is therefore not simply to train people. It is to help build the skilled workforce, professional culture and institutional capacity required to make tourism a serious contributor to the Nigerian economy,” he said.
He called for expanded Nigeria-China cooperation in professional training, curriculum development, tourism research, digital transformation, destination management and rural and cultural tourism. He identified the China Association of Travel Services and the China Tourism Academy as potential institutional partners.
However, Fagade cautioned against copying China’s model wholesale. “China’s experience should not be copied mechanically. We should learn from what China has done, adapt the lessons to Nigeria’s realities, and build a uniquely Nigerian tourism model,” he said.
China, NTDA Pledge Deeper Cooperation
Also speaking, Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy, Yang Jianxing, said Nigeria and China have enormous tourism potential given their rich histories and diverse cultures.
He described tourism as a bridge between nations and said deeper cooperation could strengthen economic ties and promote people-to-people understanding.
“Tourism not only creates jobs and fosters economic growth but also brings people from different countries closer together,” Yang said.
He said China was ready to deepen exchanges with Nigeria in tourism talent development, vocational education, hotel management, eco-tourism, cultural heritage preservation and tourism digitalisation.
The Director-General of NTDA, Dr. Ola Awakan, who was represented by the Director of Human Resources Management, Mr. Oladipo Adekunle, said China’s emergence as a leading tourism destination offers important lessons for Nigeria.
“We therefore see this seminar not merely as an opportunity to share experiences, but as a platform to identify practical areas for enhanced cooperation, including tourism investment, capacity building, destination development and increased tourist flows between our two countries,” Awakan said.
He assured that NTDA would continue to pursue partnerships to make Nigeria a more competitive and sustainable tourism destination.
The seminar ended with participants emphasising the need to move Nigeria-China tourism relations beyond dialogue to practical cooperation in skills development, investment, digital innovation and destination development.
Speakers agreed that Nigeria’s central challenge is no longer the absence of tourism attractions, but building the systems and institutional capacity to translate those assets into jobs, investment and sustained economic growth.
