Tourism Ministry, NIHOTOUR Partner To Upskill Tour Operators In Ekiti

The Federal Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) are setting up train tour operators and tour guides in Ekiti State.
According to a press statement by Joesef Karim, the Public Relations Officer for NIHOTOUR, the training, which is part of the EcoGenesis Incubator Series, will be held for two days, specifically on the 31st of March and the 1st of April 2024.

Ekiti State Bureau for Tourism Development will host the training and nominate local tour operators and tour guides to be trained.
This latest EcoGenesis Incubator Series training in Ekiti State is coming on the heels of the success of the maiden EcoGenesis Incubator training recently held in Makurdi, Benue State.
It will be recalled that EcoGenesis Incubator Series is an initiative of the minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John.

The EcoGenesis Incubator Series is a sustainable tourism entrepreneurship programme that targets residents of tourist host communities including women, youths and small cottage services that form parts of destination’s experiences for visitors.

This is the second edition of the program which is being executed across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

Speaking on the EcoGenesis Incubator training in Ekiti, the minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John stated “the capacity of host community tourism and hospitality operators, including tour operators and tour guides, are central to overall destination experiences of tourists, both domestic and inbound tourists.

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”The minister further said, “With the EcoGenesis Incubator Series, the government is providing a dynamic platform that will catalyse innovation and drive economic empowerment of citizens and service providers in tourism host communities and destinations.

This will eventually lift many out of poverty by leveraging on the abundant tourism opportunities inherent in our communities across the Nation.”

The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) has been massively involved in delivering the various training and skills development programmes of EcoGenesis Incubator Series, since the inception of the programme.

NIHOTOUR is established by an Act of Parliament to train, certify and register all personnel in Nigeria’s hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors.

The director general of NIHOTOUR, Nura Sani Kangiwa, while commenting on the scheduled Ekiti State EcoGenesis Incubator upskilling training remarked that, “Globally, in tourism development management, tour operators and tour guides are the levers of the destination’s tourism push and pull factors.