The fifth Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) would once again play host to high-profile speakers. The event, coming up in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, will have as guest speaker the former Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, Ghana, Mrs. Catherine Afeku, under whose tenure Ghana initiated the highly successful Year of Return project. Also, an Akwa Ibom-born international businessman with passion for tourism, Mr. Akanimo Udofia, will be the keynote speaker. They will be supported by a member of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) BOT, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, who also is a BOT member of NATOP. Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, will share with the tour operators the experience of restarting Ibom Air after the COVID-19 lockdown and how they have built a successful operation so far.
The theme for this year’s event is “Restarting Tourism in Nigeria. A New Template.”
Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom, is expected to grace the event. NATOP is the only tourism association that has had the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, personally attend its AGM. NATOP has always used its annual meetings to focus attention on the development of tourism in Nigeria. NATOP rotates its AGM to the different zones in Nigeria while also introducing new ideas into the tourism ecosystem.
At its 2016 AGM in Calabar, Professor Pat Utomi was the guest speaker. In 2017 at the Lagos AGM, Senator Liyel Imoke, former Governor of Cross River State, was the guest speaker. At the 2018 AGM in Jos, Plateau State, Barrister Chuka Agbu, SAN, was the guest speaker and at 2019 AGM in Ile Ife, Osun State, Otunba Segun Runsewe,the DG of NCAC, was the guest speaker. Hon. Catherine Afeku has served in two different positions in the government of President Nana Akufo Addo. She represents the constituency of the pan-African leader of Ghana former President Kwame Nkrumah. A very elequent polyglot, she was one of the Diaspora Ghanaians brought into the government of Ghana in the last five years.
Udofia, CEO of Desicon Engineering Nigeria, is a global businessman of repute who is supporting the Ibom brand as a strong tourism brand. He is a Harvard-trained oil and gas engineering entrepreneur known for many ground-breaking projects and philanthropy.
The 2021 AGM will be hosted by one of the leading tourism states in Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State. At a press conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Tourism, Orman Esin, and his Information counterpart, Mr. Ini Ememobong, were effusive in their praise of the tourism offerings of Akwa Ibom. According to Esin, “Akwa Ibom, the real deal, we have the options for all types of tourism in Nigeria. We have the biggest hotel property in West Africa, with consistent growth over the years. We knew that bringing Naija7Wonders group to our state in December for the Christmas Village will bring us the attention we needed. Now we have secured the AGM of the strongest promoters of tourism in Nigeria. We are your partners and will grow tourism together. The governor has a vision of a modern state and has deliberately engineered the development of industries and improved on the existing infrastructure. Today Ibom Air is celebrated all over the nation as a standard of excellence.”
The Information Commissioner highlighted the strong points of Akwa Ibom State.
“Cuisine, infrastructure, scenery, people and buildings are the hallmarks of Akwa Ibom. We are a very secure place not by accident but by the determination, focus and will of the state government. The governor is an industrialist and the state will benefit from energizing the tourism stakeholders to come and enjoy the synergy of our facilities. Akwa Ibom is your best choice for tourism in Nigeria.”