The FG says the Nigerian Tourism and Culture industry needs protection to get hold of a strategic survival plan through the implementation of faster COVID-19 testing response and certification.
This was disclosed by Segun Runsewe, the Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
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Mr. Runsewe said that the rebound of Covid-19 in Nigeria has additional challenges for Nigeria’s tourism sector and extra measures in testing certification must be provided to support the sector in 2021.
He added that the new Covid-19 restrictions have heavily impacted the recreational and hospitality businesses, which would be devastating for the economy through job losses.
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”We certainly welcome the news of vaccination to help curb the spread of the pandemic.
”We must give the Nigerian tourism and culture sector some form of protection and confidence to get hold of a strategic survival plan through faster COVID-19 testing response and certification.
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”The industry must hold its breath in 2021 and show grit,” he said.
He added that the FG needs to build capacity through engagement with the sector and also provide services through testing and certification to enable growth in the sector.
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”The fear of another strain of the pandemic is very alarming, but we must respond with a chain of confidence-building processes, carefully driven through one on one engagement with cultural tourism practitioners on creating additional domestic travels,” he said.
”It is important to empower the hospitality and creative sector to sustain jobs, provide services and with protocols of COVID-19 testing and certification process, to generate double-digit growth for the industry in 2021.
“We need to promote industry leadership in order to power the sector to growth, instead of doom in 2021,” he added.
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What you should know
- The African Development Bank (AfDB) disclosed that 5 million out of Africa’s 7 million aviation and tourism industry-related jobs have been lost in 2020. Also, as much as $15 billion in revenue, half of this to African airlines.
- Nairametrics also disclosed that The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed stated that capacity building for players in the tourism sector is key to the development of the sector.
- The Minister also revealed that the hospitality industry in Nigeria contributed about 4.8% to Nigeria’s total GDP and utilized about 1.6% of Nigerians in the year 2016.
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