Group announces date for ‘Food Tour’ exhibition in Abuja

CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises Limited and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) have confirmed November 25, this year, as date for the highly-anticipated 5th edition of the ‘CMD Food Tour.’

The event billed for Abuja, is expected to gather exhibitors from Cote D’Ivoire, Malaysia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, and Morocco.

The food expo comes on the heels on the recently-concluded NIHOTOUR Gastronomy Festival which held in June 16, this year, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
Organizers of the CMD Food Tour further confirmed active collaboration with NIHOTOUR for this year’s edition which holds under the theme; ‘Around the World in a Day.’

According to CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises Limited, the 5th edition of the international foods and beverages exhibition and tourism destination promotion event in Abuja, ‘will be special in so many ways.’

CMD disclosed that there will be food exhibition and workshops for local produce farmers and inbound tour operators, as, they added that participants will gain new business insights, network, and synergize with international travel brands.

Managing Director of CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises Limited, Ms. Mambo Cecile, while recounting history of the food exhibition, expressed excitement over collaboration with NIHOTOUR for the 6th edition of the show billed for Abuja in November.

“The CMD Food Tour idea came during COVID. We wanted to give the stakeholders opportunity to showcase their tourism attractions and most especially their culture to promote cultural exchange, experience a deeper sense of acceptance and inclusion to make the tourism product offerings better while preserving the heritage and authenticity of destinations.

“The event started in 2021, at that time we limited it to West African Food Tour, but with the feedback from participants we went ahead and did the CMD Caribbean Food Tour in 2022. We also did CMD East Africa Food Tour earlier in 2023 and eventually we did the 4th edition, which was a foods journey through Africa, the Caribbean, and the Silk Road. We are excited that NIHOTOUR is collaborating with us in this 5th edition of CMD Food Tour,” Ms Cecile said.

Continuing, Ms Cecile disclosed that; ‘Already seven countries, through their Embassies in Nigeria, have confirmed their participation, including Cote D’ivoire, Malaysia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, and Morocco.’

On his part, Director General of NIHOTOUR, Nura Kangiwa, confirmed the institute’s collaboration with CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises for the Food Tour, just as he reiterated his agency’s commitment towards promoting and developing ‘Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism sectors.’

According to Kangiwa, the doors of NIHOTOUR remain ‘open to partnerships in the industry.’
“Collaborating with tourism event conveners and stakeholders is within our purview and, in fact is our responsibility. This is not the first time will be collaborating to host such food and travel events. NIHOTOUR is established to provide improved personnel know-how and other technical capacity for the development of Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism sectors. Our doors are open to partnerships in the industry,” he said.

The National Institute for Hospitality and tourism (NIHOTOUR) is renowned for hosting its annual NIHOTOUR Gastronomy Festival in Abuja, as well as her ‘NaijaFoods’ exhibitions around Nigeria and West Africa.

NIHOTOUR, now under the newly-created Ministry of Tourism, is established to train, certify and register all professional in Nigeria’s travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors. It presently has 10 campuses across the country and provides hands-on training and upskilling programmes at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.