Nigeria Signs MOU With Cote D’ivoire To Boost Domestic Tourism

The federal government has entered into a memorandum of understanding, MoU, with Cote d’Ivoire Tourism Board to boost domestic tourism across the African region.

This move is the federal’s government’s effort to propel tourism development in Nigeria.

Signing the MoU on behalf of the federal government during the Cote D’Ivoire Economic Forum in Lagos, the director general (DG) of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Sally Uwechue-Mbanefo, said that there is a need for Nigeria to improve the production capacity by investing in labour intensive sectors like tourism, agriculture and manufacturing.

According to her, this is the surest means to create jobs for the small and medium scale entrepreneurs, youths and women, stressing that the corporation had been engaged in talks with the Ghana and South Africa tourism boards to harness Nigeria’s tourism potential.

She said:“Two years ago, we signed an MoU with the Gambia Tourism Board and the first batch of the NTDC staff was approved for training and best practice exchange, but we will not stop until we achieve a West African tourism brand that when a tourist begins his trip in one African country, they have to conclude it in Nigeria to get a holistic approach of tourism in West Africa.”

Mbanefo said that the essence of the partnership is to encourage African countries that utilise best practices in cocoa production, textile and fashion industries to collaborate with Nigeria and create jobs for the youths.