Amachree calls for govt assistance for tour operators, bemoans neglect of tourist sites

One of the leading voices in the Nigerian travel and tourism industry, Chief Mike Amachree, has called on all tiers of government to pay greater attention to the development of tourism sites and tourism products. He said developing these products and adding values to the country’s numerous tourism endowments is the only way for Nigeria to attract tourism traffic to the country.

Amachree, who is the proprietor of the Brooklyn Tourist Centre and Port Harcourt Tourist Beach Resort, also said that to create tourism traffic and turn Nigeria into a destination,  the government must give necessary assistance to tour operators for them to go out, create necessary awareness, and source tourists to visit the country. He said Nigeria must be proactive on the issue of tourism development.

“The tour operators are familiar with tourist markets and have partners in different countries. We must encourage and help them to market the country and bring in tourists.”

He said helping the tour operators to market the country as a destination was of greater value to the country than the huge amount the government spends promoting carnivals.

Amachree also cautioned government on the continuous sponsorship of carnivals with tax payers’ money.

According to him, “the various carnivals would function better if the government divest from it and allow the carnival to solely run and financed by the private sector. He said it was only through this that it can make the necessary economic contributions to the economy of where it is being held.

Amachree went down memory lane to recall how he organised the first Abuja and second Port Harcourt carnivals and that it was a huge success.   He said during the reign of General Ibrahim Babangida, he led the private sector to organise the first Abuja Carnival in 1990.

“General Babangida invited the private sector under my leadership to Aso Rock. Babangida used the opportunity to instruct the Central Bank (CBN) to provide the practitioners with tourism development fund to develop tourist sites.” Amachree said it was erroneous for the different tiers of government in Nigeria to believe that organising carnivals and building edifices are all that is required to develop tourism, adding that developing tourism goes beyond that.

“In the United States of America and Dubai, they have spectacular edifices; those tourists cannot come to Nigeria if they want to see beautiful structures and wonderful hotels.

He reiterated that only the development of our tourism sites that can guarantee tourist visitors. When visitors come to your country, they look for sites that excite which are historical, cultural or man-made.

“Our history and culture are the things they are coming to learn and these could be seen only at our tourist centres and museums. The different tiers of government should pay greater attention to developing them.”

Chief Amachree in the same bemoans government’s  neglect of the country’s tourism sites has become the bane of tourism in Nigeria as no tourist would like to spend his or her hard earned money to come to a site that is in bad condition.

“it is very important that the country pay greater attention to development tourism sites. If you go to most of our sites, they are suffering serious neglect. Under this kind of condition, you don’t expect them to generate money. It is high time we stopped paying lip services to the development of tourism as an alternative to oil. The country should act.”