Director: Mrs. Patricia J. Narai
DEPARTMENT OF DOMESTIC AND ECO-TOURISM PROMOTION AND CONTROL
1.1. INTRODUCTION:
The Department of Domestic and Eco-tourism Promotion and Control was created out of the erstwhile Department of Tourism in November, 2013. The policy objective of this exercise was to decentralize the Tourism Department and strengthen the two New Departments with specific functions and focus in order to accelerate the development of the Tourism Sector in Nigeria. The department is located at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Head of Service Building, Phase II, Shehu Shagari Way, Block E, 1st Floor, Abuja Nigeria, The Department is headed by an Ag. Director Mrs. Patricia J. Narai with a staff strength of 37. Our contacts are as follows;
Email: patricianarai@yahoo.com GSM: 08037024454
Email: dihuaku@yahoo.com GSM: 08033138392
Email: tonypoju@yahoo.com GSM: 08055251508
Email: bisongmkpejie@yahoo.com GSM: 08059619708
1.2 STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT:
The staff are grouped into:
 Professional Tourism Staff.
 Executive officers (Tourism)
 Catering instructors
 Administrative Staff
 Clerical officers.
1.3 The department has the following Divisions:
1. Domestic Tourism Promotion Division (DTP)
2. Eco Tourism Control Division (ETC)
1.3.1 FOUR SECTIONS:
• Under Domestic Tourism Promotion Division (DTP).
i. Domestic Tourism Services sections (DTS )
ii. Tourism Legislation Control sections (TLC)
• Under Eco Tourism Control Division (ETC):
iii. Recreation and Leisure section (RL).
iv. Environmental Protection section (EP).
1.3.2 EIGHT UNITS:
• Under Domestic Tourism Services sections (DTS)
i. Inter Agency Collaboration unit (IAC)
ii. Private /Tourism Stakeholders unit (PTS)
• Under Tourism Legislation and Control section (TLC)
i. Tourism Code of Ethics and Enforcement unit
ii. Tourism Safety Standards Control unit
• Under Recreation and Leisure section
i. Hotel and Catering unit
ii. Entertainment and Festivals unit
• Under Environmental Protection section.
i. Parks and Gardens unit
ii. Sites Development and Promotion unit
1.4 SUPERVISION:
The department supervises two out of the ten parastatals of the Ministry namely:
a) Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) with her headquarters office in Area 1 Old Federal Secretariat by Tourism Village Abuja with zonal offices spread across the country. The agency is headed by a Director General, Folorunsho Coker.
b) National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) headed by the Director General, Mrs. Chika Balogun. The Institute headquarters is located No. 6 Mike Akhigbe Road, Jabi, Garki with several campuses spread across the six geo-political zones of the country. It is the training arm of the Tourism Department of the Ministry. It is a multi-campus institution with campuses spread across the six geo – political zones of the country in Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Benin, Enugu, Lagos, Osun States and Abuja. Their mandate is to provide professional and technical skills, upgrading training programmes to enhance all levels of personnel in the industry. The institution runs regular tourism programmes in Post Graduate Diploma, Diploma, Professional Certificates, and National Technical Certificate in Catering Craft Practice (NABTEB NTC 340).
1.5 MANDATE:
• To ensure that Tourism Contributes to the economic development of the country through the promotion of tourism activities and Eco Tourism control.
• Ensure tourism contributes to the economic development of the nation through domestic and foreign exchange earnings;
• Use tourism to create employment and alleviate poverty;
• Make Nigeria a preferred tourism destination by promoting its products and cultural heritage;
• Ensures effective implementation of Multilateral and Bilateral Cooperation between organizations and friendly countries.
1.6 VISION:
• The Vision of the Department is to reposition the Tourism Sector as a major contributor to the economy and to make Nigeria the ultimate tourism destination in Africa.
1.7 MISSION:
• The Mission of the Department is to Coordinate, Monitor and evaluate effective performance of the tourism sub-sector in the Country including tourism products, development and tourism promotion.
1.8 POLICY THRUST:
There are three main policy documents which guide the activities and programmes of the department. These are:
1.8.1 The National Tourism Policy:
The main thrust of government policy is to generate foreign exchange, encourage even development, and promote tourism based rural enterprise, generate employment, accelerate rural-urban integration and motivate cultural exchange.
1.8.2 The Nigeria Tourism Development Master Plan:
The Nigerian Tourism Development Master Plan (NTDMP) is a document put together in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Development programmes (UNDP) which was launched in October, 2007, and its implementation has started.
1.8.3 The National Code of Ethics for Tourism:
This is a comprehensive set of principles designed to guide key-players in tourism development addressed to governments, the travel industry, communities and tourists alike, it aims to help maximize the sector’s benefits while minimizing its potentially negative impact on the environment, cultural heritage and societies across the globe. Adopted in 1999 by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, Nigeria adopted the code for the tourism sector. The adopted National code of ethics has been translated into the three major Nigerian languages namely, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.
1.9 PROGRAMMES/ACTIVITIES/FUNCTIONS:
i.) Handling of Domestic Tourism Planning, Legislation and incentives policies;
ii.) Tourism Development, Monitoring and Evaluation;
iii.) Coordination of the Implementation of Tourism Development Master Plan;
iv.) Organization of Familiarization trips.
v.) Ensure that tourists receive appropriate visas and on time;
vi.) Planning and execution of tourism fairs and exhibitions within Nigeria;
vii.) Collaborating with Private Tourism Stakeholders for the Execution of Local Tourism Fairs and Exhibitions.
viii.) Development and rehabilitation of tourism attractions in the country;
ix.) Liaising with appropriate Agencies of Government for the production of Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA);
x.) Provide information for the purpose of investment in the tourism sector;
xii.) Coordination of sustainable tourism and best practice using the adopted National Code of Ethics for Tourism;
xiii) Signing of MOU Agreements with private tourism investors within the country.
xiv) Coordination and providing advisory services to private tourism organizations such as FTAN, HATMAN, NANTA, NATOP, ATPN ATA, UFTAA, ITP etc.
xv) Production/Publication of broad based national tourism promotional materials.
xvi) Membership of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR).
vii. Monitoring the development of Tourism in the states through the National Council on Culture and Tourism.
1.10 CONCLUSION:
Nigerians are encouraged to explore their own country, as it will help them experience what millions of International Tourists are drawn to annually. Nigeria is blessed with breath taking beautiful scenery, rich cultures, heritage sites and fascinating hospitable people that can captivate domestic tourism in Nigeria.