World Tourism Day: Association Inaugurates Committee for 2022 Commemoration

To commemorate this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD) billed for Tuesday, September 2022, the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters (ATBOWATON) has unveiled an initiative that would upgrade the value chain of the industry in Nigeria.

To achieve this, President of ATBOWATON, Dr. Gani Tarzan Balogun, has set up five strategic sub committees that would work towards redirecting focus on key areas of the sector.

The committees are: security and logistics, fundraising and mobilisation, hospitality and protocol, event planning and programmes, and media. Each of the sub committees is expected to submit their preliminary reports next week.

He said this was to give vent to redirecting the affairs of tourism and focus on key areas of the sector.

According to him, the committee is to work out activities that will change the narratives and give meaning to tourism issues in the country.

He noted that the committee members included travel professionals, tour operators, boat operators, government agencies in hospitality, water transporters, tourism management, culture and the media.

He also advised on the need for a new collaboration template with both states and federal government cultural tourism agencies.

According to him, each of the sub-committees will submit their preliminary reports on Aug. 16 and an expanded meeting will hold Aug.19 to adopt submissions that will flourish the set programme for WTD celebrations.

Reports state that the theme for the 2022 World Tourism Day is “Rethinking Tourism”.

Balogun, who was recently inaugurated by the President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr. Nkereweum Onung, as Chairman Central Working Committee for 2022 WTD celebration, told members of the committee drawn from travel professionals, tour operators, boat operators, government agencies in hospitality, water transportation, tourism management, culture and the media, that time has come for the private sector to take over the running of tourism in the country and also push forward a new collaboration template with both states and federal government cultural tourism agencies.

August 17, 2022