The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture has commenced the process of activating the Presidential Council on Tourism, PCT, as part of efforts to fast-track the development of tourism in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this in Abuja when he received the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria, FTAN, on a courtesy visit to his office.

He said that the resuscitation of the PCT was one of the recommendations adopted at the National Summit on Tourism and Culture, organised by the Ministry in April, as a strategy to make tourism a viable sector of the economy.

According to the minister, the Presidential Council on Tourism, is the highest advisory body on tourism in Nigeria, and is comprised of the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Works, Power and Housing, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, Environment, Aviation and Transport, as well as the President of FTAN.

Mohammed noted there is renewed vigour in the present administration to focus more on tourism, with a view to turning around the fortunes of the economy.

“We are very confident that tourism will very soon become another veritable source of revenue for the government and employment for our youths, by the time we are able to provide the missing infrastructure, because the biggest challenge for us is how do we turn our tourist sites to tourist attractions?

“We can’t do that alone in the ministry of Information and Culture. We will need the support and collaboration of not just other ministries but also the practitioners in tourism,” he said.

The Minister noted that the ministry is already partnering with the UN World Tourism Organisation, the British Council and the Tony Elumelu Foundation on how to revive the tourism sector, particularly in the collation of data for effective planning.

He said a Steering Committee meeting, which will draft the agenda for the inaugural session of the PCT, will hold on Sept. 6th 2016.

FTAN President, Tomi Akingbogu, commended the minister for adopting innovative ideas to address some of the challenges affecting tourism development in Nigeria,

He praised President Buhari’s efforts in tackling security issues in the country, which he noted has also adversely affected the country’s tourism development.