Abuja Set For National Tourism Transport Summit December 7

Arrangements have been concluded by the Inter-Ministerial Organising Committee of the National Tourism Transportation Summit and Expo approved by the Federal Government in the drive to reposition the economy.

The approval for collaboration between the relevant ministries and their agencies, non-government and private stakeholders is to promote tourism and transportation owing to the great significance of mobility and connectivity to the national economic growth and development.

According to a release by National President ITPN/ Chairman MOC, ITTS&E 2020, Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, the 2020 edition of the summit and expo which is the third edition but was billed to hold in April this year, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now rescheduled to hold December Monday 7 and Tuesday 8, 2020 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The event, with theme repositioning tourism and transportation connectivity and mobility to revitalise the economy, is coming on the heels of the dwindling fortunes of the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic with tourism and transportation industries being the hardest hit, is therefore expected to leverage on efforts by the Federal Government of Nigeria to revitalise the national economy.

It will be recalled that ministries and agencies of both sectors in the country have successfully hosted two editions of the summit in 2018 and 2019 based on the premise that tourism and transportation connectivity are critical issues relating to bridging the policies of both sectors while reaffirming the need for developing programmes of inter-ministerial cooperation between bodies responsible for tourism and transportation as well as other lined MDAs with both direct and indirect linkages so as to improve and strengthen the basic conditions for the sustainable development of the national economy.

It is expected that the Presidency will be leading on the policy direction of the Federal government, while the mass transportation will be led by the Ministers of Transportation and of Aviation, and the Minister for Information and Culture will be the Chief Tourism Host leading the tourism and cultural sector.

Other sessions of the summit will include keynote presentations from captains of industry, international organizations, and agencies under the federal ministries of transportation, information, and culture as well as critical lined MDAs in the tourism transportation value chains of the national economy.

The exhibition, B2B, and G2B sessions will expose attendees to a plethora of public-private partnership investment opportunities in the transportation and tourism public sectors and of companies showcasing their products and services.

It will also provide a rare opportunity for high-level government officials to discuss and get insight from both domestic and international investors fostering joint ventures, domestic and foreign direct investments.

Participants at the two-day events will be drawn from major key players and stakeholders in the transportation and tourism sectors from the international community in critical areas such as the air transportation; i.e. airlines, tour and travel operators, administrators of the aviation industry; the maritime industry which includes sea transport, boats and sea cruising operators; Road Transportation including major transport owners, car hire services, AIB, NCAT, NITT, FAAN, NIMASA, NURTW, RTEAN, Road Traffic and Safety Agencies including the FRSC, NPF,  NSCDC, Motor Insurance Companies; State Transport Ministries and Agencies; rail transport services.

Others are operators of the Tourism and Hospitality industry including tourism resort operators, National Parks Services, NIHOTOUR, NTDC, NCMM; state tourism ministries and boards, festivals and tourism events managers; hoteliers, restaurants and fast-food operators; conferences and events managers; as well as service providers in the banking, oil and gas industries.

Experts and professionals are drawn from the academia, as well as key players and stakeholders in the industries will deliver healthy and thought-provoking papers on carefully selected sub-themes of the Summit which includes: Tourism in a Hyper Connection World: Making Technology Work for the Tourism and Transportations Sectors; Potentialities of Developing Regional Inter-Connectivity in Africa; Inter-Modal Connectivity, Traveller’s Safety and Security; Development of Critical Infrastructure and the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria-The Case of Tourism and Transportation Industries and Building Capacity for Global Best Practice in the Tourism and Transportation Sectors, among others.

The events offer a unique opportunity for policymakers, regulators, entrepreneurs, key players in both the tourism and transport sectors of the economy, investors, numerous esteemed customers and the general public estimated at 5,000 to engage in an all-participatory discourse aimed at chatting the desired synergy, collaboration and connective inter-play between the two sectors for maximum economic benefits of the country.