The National President, Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), Ayodele Arokoyo, says tourism can drive development and attract billions to Kaduna State.
Arokoyo, who doubles as the Kaduna State Chapter President, Tour Guide Association of Nigeria, said this on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
He lamented that Kaduna state has enormous but largely untapped tourism potential.
He said Kaduna was endowed with historical sites, artefacts, monuments and cultural attractions capable of attracting visitors from Nigeria and beyond.
“The state of tourism in Kaduna today is as good as there is no tourism,” Arokoyo said.
He said many important tourist destinations with international recognition had suffered neglect, affecting the state’s image as a tourism destination.
Arokoyo cited Gamji Gate, including the Lord Lugard Bridge and other features, as among attractions that once contributed to Kaduna’s tourism appeal.
He said the condition of some tourist sites was a major setback to efforts to reposition Kaduna as a leading tourism destination.
According to him, insecurity should not be used as a permanent excuse for neglecting tourism, noting that other countries had successfully combined security measures with tourism development.
He said tourism could provide leisure opportunities for residents and visitors during festive periods, including Sallah and Christmas celebrations.
“Most of the areas that were supposed to be occupied have been put on hold under the pretext of restructuring or construction,” he said.
The ATPN President said domestic tourism had significant potential to contribute to economic development while supporting efforts to address insecurity.
“As a tourism expert, I know Kaduna State has a serious issue of concern,” he said.
He said ATPN was advocating greater government attention and collaboration with tourism experts, developers and other relevant stakeholders to unlock the sector’s potential.
According to him, tourism development involves several value chains that must be deliberately developed to generate sustainable economic benefits.
He said hotels could not operate at full capacity without tourism activities, cultural events and attractions capable of bringing visitors into the state.
Arokoyo said poor accessibility to tourist destinations was another major challenge, with some sites requiring better roads and general infrastructure.
He urged the Kaduna State Government to adopt a public-private partnership approach to tourism development and establish a comprehensive tourism development master plan.
“It is not just about building hotels. How many hotels are being occupied in Kaduna State? How many events happen yearly?” he asked.
The ATPN president said greater attention to tourism would enhance cultural development, create investment opportunities and support efforts to improve security.
He said tourism could create jobs for young people and provide productive activities, particularly amid concerns over drug abuse and youth idleness.
Arokoyo appealed to the government to collaborate with tourism associations and professionals to conduct tourism profiling and assessments across Kaduna.
“We have professionals across the board to pull in experts to address these concerns,” he said.
He called for the establishment of a Kaduna State Stakeholder Tourism Development Forum to discuss the sector’s challenges and present profiling and assessments to government.
He said the forum would help identify existing attractions, determine their potential and develop strategies for repositioning Kaduna as a competitive tourism destination.
Arokoyo said successful implementation of the recommendations would bring development, peace, investment and increased visitor inflow to the state.
“It means visitor inflow and pull factors. People will explore opportunities from tourism attractions across the local government areas,” he said.
He noted that Kaduna’s 23 local government areas each had different tourism opportunities that could contribute to the state’s economic prosperity.
According to him, developing the sector would deepen economic opportunities, improve governance, strengthen networking and expand the tourism value chain.
On the financial potential of tourism, Arokoyo said the sector could generate billions of naira annually if the state’s tourism resources were properly developed and exploited.(NAN)(NAN)
