Nigeria Tourism Stakeholders Push Collaboration, Investment, Policy Reforms at NTIFE 2026
Nigeria Tourism Stakeholders Push Collaboration, Investment, Policy Reforms at NTIFE 2026
Nigeria Tourism Stakeholders Push Collaboration, Investment, Policy Reforms at NTIFE 2026
Nigeria’s tourism sector took centre stage as key stakeholders gathered for the 9th Nigeria Tourism Investors Forum and Exhibition (NTIFE 2026) and the 29th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN).
Held under the theme, “Tourism Transformation through Collaboration, Policy Alignment and Investment,” the event brought together government officials, tourism investors, hospitality operators, development partners and other stakeholders to explore strategies for repositioning Nigeria’s tourism industry for sustainable growth.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), Mr Olayiwola Awakan, GPr, emerged as one of the key voices at the event, participating in a high-impact panel session focused on the future of tourism, investment, hospitality and destination development in Nigeria.
Awakan highlighted critical areas requiring attention, including the establishment of a Tourism Police, strengthening the Tourism Development Fund, promoting domestic tourism, creating a Tourism One-Stop Shop and addressing multiple taxation affecting businesses across the sector.
In his welcome address, FTAN President, Alhaji Aliyu Badaki, PhD, stressed that transforming Nigeria’s tourism industry requires unity, stronger collaboration and purposeful reforms.
He reaffirmed FTAN’s commitment to deepening cooperation between the public and private sectors while calling for an urgent review of tourism laws and regulatory frameworks that create duplication, uncertainty and unnecessary burdens for investors.
Badaki advocated policies that would improve the ease of doing business and attract greater private-sector investment into the tourism and hospitality industries, in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Honourable Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, described NTIFE as one of Nigeria’s leading platforms for advancing the tourism sector.
She noted that the forum provides an important avenue for strengthening collaboration, promoting policy alignment, attracting investment and building stronger partnerships across Nigeria’s tourism value chain, in accordance with the Ministry’s Tourism Transformation Mandate.
The event also attracted the Acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Alhaji Aminu Agoha; Senator Ibrahim Mohammed Ida, CON, LLB, BL, PhD, FCIB, FIPR; Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Tourism, Hon. Arc. Muhammad Muktar, PhD, MNIA, Zannan Kazaure; as well as representatives of the ECOWAS Commission, European Union, GIZ and other major public and private-sector stakeholders.
The gathering underscored the growing recognition of tourism as an important driver of economic diversification, employment creation, investment and national development.
Participants agreed that stronger public-private partnerships, clearer regulations, improved infrastructure, investment incentives and coordinated policy implementation will be essential to unlocking Nigeria’s vast tourism potential and positioning the country as a competitive destination in Africa and beyond.
Nigeria Tourism Stakeholders Push Collaboration, Investment, Policy Reforms at NTIFE 2026
