Orubebe, Ftan Seal Deal on Niger Delta Tourism

Akanimo Sampson

Orubebe, Ftan Seal Deal on Niger Delta Tourism

GODSDAY Orubebe, Nigeria's Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, has struck a deal with the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) with a view to exploring the rich tourism potentials of the oil and gas region, to raise the standard of living of citizens.

Sources say the ministry has come to realise that tourism will help to contribute to the protection of one of the oil region's key assets, biodiversity, which is said to be a critical responsibility of all business sectors.

AkanimoReports gathered from Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on Tuesday that Orubebe, has expressed his ministry’s willingness to collaborate with FTAN, to develop and market the abundant eco-tourism potentials in the Niger Delta.

Official sources said the minister described tourism as ''a catalyst that could be used to drive the local economy in the Niger Delta, with a view to achieving the goals of sustainable peace and job creation''.

According to Orubebe, ''the economic potentials of tourism, being the world’s largest and fastest growing industry, which creates one in every eleven jobs, contribute to international and regional economic growth''.

A tourism activist in the oil region, Mr. Piriye Jonathan, told AkanimoReports in Yenagoa that the minister made these remarks while receiving the executive members of the South-South Tourism Zonal Council, under the auspices of FTAN, at a closed door meeting in Abuja recently.

The minister, according to the activist, reiterated the urgent need to develop the huge coastal tourism potentials in the oil region.

Continuing, he said, ''Orubebe regretted that, though the oil region boasts of the finest beaches in the world; with rich wetlands, no attention has been paid to the huge marine tourism potentials in the area'', and reportedly informed the visiting team that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, under him, will collaborate with the South-South FTAN Zonal Council to explore the tourism potentials, with a view to creating job opportunities in the communities in the area.

Jonathan claimed that the minister was of the view that the fine beaches in the Niger Delta also provide huge investment opportunities in the hospitality sub-sector of the travel and tourism industry, pointing out that the beaches in the region should boast of standard hotels and marine recreational facilities to cater for the leisure needs of tourists among other tourism infrastructures that would boost the local economy.

The ministry is also work closely with the tourism federation in the region to promote cultural tourism, through the promotion of arts, crafts and festivals, including creek boat shows to create opportunities for the local populace to develop talents, in order to sustain the growing peaceful atmosphere in the area, informing that his ministry was working towards establishing skill acquisition centers in each of the nine states that constitute the Niger Delta, in addition to constructing ten football pitches across the region, to positively engage the youths in the area.

For the minister, the visit was very timely, in view of the ministry’s preparedness to boost the growth of tourism; saying that the ministry would partner with credible bodies like the FTAN to accelerate the development of the region. He also listed food security, through agriculture, as another area of focus.

Chairman of the south-south zonal council and national vice president of FTAN, Mr. Andy Ehanire, had canvassed for collaboration between the Ministry of Niger Delta and FTAN, claiming that such collaboration would create the necessary synergy for advancing the tourism potentials in the region, especially through joint pilot schemes and extension services that emphasise self help, leadership training and capacity development/exchange, amongst local communities, adding that, tourism, was a key tool for accelerated socio-economic development in the area.

Mr Ehanire, used the meeting to solicite for a FTAN endowment fund, while briefing the minister of a proposed annual FTAN South-South Zonal Tourism Stakeholders Summit for sensitization and mobilization of tourism stakeholders and the need for the development of a Niger Delta Regional Tourism Master Plan, for regional economic integration in aid of capacity growth and exchange.

Adding, he said most of the initiatives of the south-south zonal council would be implemented through relevant FTAN Technical Committees, having multi-lateral collaboration with affiliates and strategic partner institutions and organizations.

FTAN, he went on, has the task of mobilizing it constituent associations and stakeholders across the hospitality, travel and tourism industries, including guilds, curators, custodians, cooperatives and individuals, through capacity building programmes and pilot schemes that encourage creativity, heritage conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, which are critical to socio-economic well being of the communities.

According to the national vice president, ''FTAN will create tourism demand, through a marketing network, intended to jumpstart the critical economic trickle-down effect that aids the growth of community based enterprises, which would lead to job creation and poverty alleviation, stressing that, “in light of the developmental challenges in the Niger Delta, this required collaboration is a way of expanding institutional support for tourism development in the Niger Delta”.

He, however, outlined some of the planned South-South Zonal Council’s programmes and projects, as “One Village , One Product” Scheme – a quintessential pilot scheme to assist local communities discover their tourism resource and to regenerate their cultural infrastructure, leading to social transformation and civic renewal, through various conservation initiatives for the vast ecological and cultural heritage of the region.

“This would be carried out by heritage design experts, through research, advocacy, and management support, using an exponential community development template”. he said.

Mr Ehanire further explained that the south-south zonal council’s programmes were meant to provide advanced skills acquisition and mentoring, especially in the areas of arts and craft, and to market their products hrough participation in exhibitions worldwide, including an FTAN South-South Craft EXPO He strives also for developing new sources of raw materials for the arts and craft industries that are sustainable, as well as eco-friendly, and the marketing the various tourism sites in the Niger Delta.

He pointed out that, “training of tour guides in the region would create self employment for the teaming unemployed youths, even as they would use their local knowledge to earn a living in tourism, adding that tour guiding has become an important vocation which creates cultural and ecological ambassadors all over the world, pointing out that some of the ex-militants in the region might become very useful in tour guiding, as they were already familiar with the terrain in the region.

He said, FTAN was interested in identifying, upgrading, as well as promoting tourism schemes and projects that would offer meaningful recreation/informal education (including cultural exchange), which have the capacity to bring about cross-cultural understanding, with a view to reducing tension amongst communities, leading to the enthronement of peace in the region.

Our correspondent reports that tourism is often described as the world’s biggest industry, generated over US$575 billion in revenues in 2006, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Some of those that accompanied the FTAN national vice president on the visit include, the National Treasurer of FTAN, Aniofiok Ekong, South-South Zonal Tourism Council Secretary, Mr Piriye Kiyaramo, the Chairman of Bayelsa State branch, Stephen Diver, the Protem Chairman, Delta State branch, Mr Eyinimi Omorozi, the secretary of Delta state branch, Mr Ken Embelede and the Financial secretary of Akwa Ibom branch, Roberta Edem.

ENDS

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