Tourism practitioners appoint zonal coordinators for industry’s growth

The Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN) has appointed six zonal coordinators to grow the tourism industry.

This is contained in a statement issued by the ATPN’s National President, Hassan Zakari, on Tuesday, in Lagos.

Zakari charged the coordinators to work hard to explore ways to develop tourism within their jurisdiction.

He also urged them to ensure efficiency and proper management of the industry as well as help guide government decisions on tourism policies.

The appointed zonal coordinators are: Prince Oluwafemi Fadina of Jethro Tours (South West); Musa Sanusi Ahmad of Smart Outliers (North West) and Juliana Tongrit of Orit Travel & Tours (North Central).

Others are Ugwu Wilson Uche of iTour Africa (South East); Piriye Kiyaramo, tourism journalist (South-South) and Dr Muhammad Adamu of Bauchi Friends (North East).

Zakari said that the coordinators would co-lead the implementation of the ATPN tourism restart strategy and be the main point of contact for the association in their respective zones.

He advised them to look inwards and give priority to the promotion of domestic tourism as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world and lots of restrictions were still in place.

“The coordinators will be responsible to drive membership within their zones while building sustainable relationships with the local governments and their host communities.

“The zonal offices will bring ATPN closer to its members as we work towards restarting tourism, following the devastation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic,’’ he said.

Conveying the approval of the Board of Trustees, Alhaji Kabir Malan, ATPN Board of Trustee (BOT) Chairman, commended executives of the association for the strides in the last 12 months.

Malan said this was noted in forging strategic relationships critical to the growth of domestic and inbound tourism in Nigeria.

“We must not lose the momentum gained so far, especially as we have a short window occasioned by the apathy to international travel to lubricate the tourism value chain in,’’ he said.

ATPN, one of the oldest tourism associations in Nigeria, is a member-driven professional trade association founded in 1990.

The association is with the primary purpose of promoting domestic and inbound tourism to Nigeria.

It is managed by a committee of tourism experts with a passion for the tourism industry.