September 15, (THEWILL) — The Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, NIHOTOUR, Dr Abisoye Fagade, has declared that Nigeria’s tourism industry must upgrade to globally recognised standards if it is to inspire confidence, attract investment, and guarantee quality service delivery. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 21st Akwaaba African Travel Market held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, Fagade said NIHOTOUR is driving the push for institutional compliance and professional regularisation across the hospitality value chain in the country.
“I am here to explain standardisation and regularisation of the industry. From hotels to restaurants, from stores and operators to event managers, we must upgrade to a globally recognised standard, and inspire confidence, attract investment, and guarantee quality.” According to him, when every player is properly recognised and regulated, Nigeria can build strong international linkages and create a tourism ecosystem that is credible, competitive, and future-ready.
Describing Akwaaba not just as an exhibition but as a continental call to action, the NIHOTOUR boss emphasised the need for Africa to speak with one voice in tourism. “If he had not taken this action 21 years ago, I’m not sure we would be here today”, Fagade said in reference to the organiser of Akwaaba, Ambassador Ikechi Uko. “It’s a call to action in a manner that African tourism depends on how we all organise ourselves, regulate ourselves, and present ourselves to the world.” He urged participants to leave the forum with a shared resolve to make African tourism not only vibrant and diverse, but also standardised, professional, and trusted worldwide. “As I often say”, he added, “people have built this Nigeria. Let tourism and hospitality build Africa’s tomorrow.”
In his welcome address, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, the founder of the Akwaaba African Travel Market, called on Africans to deliberately travel within the continent, insisting that the future of tourism lies in Africans selling Africa to Africans. He reminded participants that his vision in 2002 was met with disbelief when he argued that Africa could build a self-sustaining travel market without relying exclusively on Europe and America. “We have everything we need to create the tourism we want,” Uko said. “That is what gave birth to this programme. Today, we are 21 years living that vision, and we are happy and ambitious. Africans are the biggest travellers in Africa today.”
Uko recalled how, at global expos such as the World Travel Market in London, African delegates had no option but to sell their destinations abroad. His question, he said, was simple: why not sell Africa in Africa? “When I started in 2003, 2004, everybody said it wasn’t possible. It took like five years before Kenya and Zimbabwe caught the vision. Today, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa and others are showing the best of African tourism, but 15 years ago nobody believed Africans could travel Africa,” he explained.
He stressed that Nigeria, despite hosting fewer than one million foreign tourists annually, has hotels declaring billions of naira in revenue. According to him, the money is generated domestically. “Every Nigerian billionaire became a billionaire in dollars without having foreign money in his pocket. Everybody was made here,” he declared. He argued that if this pattern of internal growth was replicated across African nations, the continent would become not only strong but globally significant.
Both Fagade and Uko agreed that the African tourism renaissance depends on collaboration, regulation, and continental vision. For Fagade, the call is for standards and professionalism; for Uko, the challenge is to make Africans travel in Africa. Together, they painted a picture of an industry at a crossroads, where the decisions of today could determine whether Africa becomes a credible global destination tomorrow.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
