NIHOTOUR Masterclass: Respond to emerging challenges, experts charge tourism writers

[By VICTOR NZE]

Experts in the travel and tourism industry have charged media practitioners to strive to meet and effectively respond to emerging challenges in that sector of the economy by advancing and proffering solutions which will engender growth for both operators and regulators.

This was the position adopted by speakers at the just-concluded one-day Tourism Journalism Masterclass for the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET), organised by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), which held at the International Conference Centre Abuja, Friday, June 16.

The masterclass session for tourism writers which held under the theme; ‘Best Practices for Journalistic Reporting of Tourism Destinations,’ featured three experts in the industry, including; Olorogun (Dr) Peter Igho, former boss of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr David Dogo, as well as, Otunba Segun Runsewe, the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, who all harped on the need for media practitioners to retool, if necessary, in order to effectively mine the immense potential which the industry portends for its operators and the economy of the country.

Declaring the one-day training open, Director-General of NIHOTOUR, Nura Kangiwa, reiterated his agency’s continued support for capacity building as an imperative for stakeholders in the industry, including the media practitioners, which he said is anchored on the need to adhere to industry best practices.

This, Kangiwa, added also explains his Institute’s decision to invite foreign participants at the annual Gastronomy Festival, insisting that these invited countries bring with them experiences which Nigerian in the sector can exploit to improve and grow their operations.

“We are trying to grow our own industry operations by exposing them to best practices around the world,” Kangiwa said, while also assuring that the next edition of the event will strive to better this year’s rendition.

According to the NIHOTOUR boss, it is also another way ‘to motivate our domestic industry that we choose foreign participants and culinary experts to feature in our gastronomy festival. It is not a case of eroding our own heritage or culinary traditions. Let me also remind you that NIHOTOUR has a mandate to showcase and promote excellence in its culinary arts, and so when we invite foreign countries, it is aimed at achieving that mandate by driving our own excellence,” Kangiwa said.

Kicking off the lectures, former Producer and managing Director at the NTA, Dr Peter Igho, credited with creating iconic television series like, 1990s ‘Cock Crow At Dawn,’ drew instances from his experiences with leveraging on contents created at the broadcasting station to manage and showcase Nigeria as a tourist destination many years back.

Speaking in his paper titled; Tourism Crises Communication – The Role of Media Practitioners,’ Dr Igho, noted that the present-day journalist in the tourism industry is also presented with similar challenges many years down the line as he was in his position then as a television producer and video content creator.

Igho stated that being the fourth estate of the realm, ‘the media is duty bound as a partner in Nigeria’s socio-political development,’ as according to him, ‘there is a need to be in the frontline and patriotic when the country encounters challenges and in Nigeria this means all the time.’

Citing instances of the Abacha regime which dragged Nigeria down into a pariah state in the comity of nations, the killing of rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, the NTA icon recalled how he created programmes like ‘Not in our character,’ to counter negative information design to destroy the destination Nigeria as a market in the tourism industry, or as he put it, ‘to launder the negative image of Nigeria.’

“The media must keep the spotlight on the whole tourism value chain. It is pertinent to note that risk by its very nature, exists on a continuum and is either smoothed by risk mitigation initiatives (which the media is an integral stakeholder) or amplified and shaped by the socio-political, environmental, and economic backdrop,” Igho said.

Concluding his presentation, the veteran television producer said the role of the media in promoting tourism in times of crisis entails promoting ‘risk mitigation initiatives and amplify the tourism potential of Nigeria with a view to attracting foreign and domestic tourists to patronize the Nigerian Tourism Industry,’ adding also that the title of the presentation is apt as crises is now the Nigeria situation.

Igho who is presently the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, P.I. Consult, however, commended NIHOTOUR for organising the training, just as he acknowledged the institute for the vision in promoting gastronomy with a training and capacity building session for journalists in the industry, describing the decision as ‘a timely call to action that will provide the required spotlight on Nigerian cuisines at a time when Nigerian movies, literature, music, fashion and culture are being embraced all over the world.’

Igho reminded that the NIHOTOUR training programme for journalists is designed to enhance human capital development in the media industry and ‘seeks to promote Nigeria as the best cultural tourism destination, not only in Africa but indeed in the world.’

Igho posited further a narrative is better told by the person at the centre of the storm, hence, the need to move to begin telling the Nigeria tourism story from their own perspectives.

In his paper titled; ‘Journalism Code of Ethics and the Impact on Sustainable Tourism Destination,’ Dr David Manya Dogo, drew a fine line between ethics and values, as they relate to tourism reporting and media content management.

It is difficult to separate ethics from values because they are two sides of the same coin, as both “may differ in terms of their motif force, but their ultimate goal is to ensure a desirable human behaviour. 

“Ethics are “moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or conduct of an activity.” In a broader sense, ethics reflect on human beings and their interaction with nature and with other humans. In other words, a behaviour is said to be ethical when it is morally correct from the standpoint of those whose actions are guided by a set of moral principles.

“Values on the other hand are ‘individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or the other, and serve to guide human behaviour.’ In other words, they are moral standards of behaviour. Values are things that are considered ‘important’ by an individual or an organisation.

“They are therefore an embodiment of what an organisation or people stand for, and provides the basis for the behaviour of its members.

Dr Dogo while noting that a tourism writer’s role in the growth and sustenance of the industry in Nigeria is very critical and should not be underestimated, pointed out that best practices in journalistic reporting of tourism destinations require strict observance of journalism ethics, demonstration of effective communication skills and good knowledge of the industry.

“The great potentials of tourism as a key contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the reason you must work with other industry players and stakeholders to make it sustainable and profitable.”

According to Dogo, for a journalist to effectively contribute to sustainable tourism development in Nigeria, professionalism must be adopted.

“Your role as a journalist can only be impactful if you are truly professional in carrying out your work.

As influencers and conscience of the society, you only earn the respect and confidence of the people when you conduct your journalism in the most professional manner.

“In projecting Nigeria positively, you need to appreciate that Nigeria is a huge tourism destination in Africa with great potentials for growth.

“As journalists and tourism writers, you need to constantly set the agenda for public discourse and conversation around the issue of tourism. Issues to be raised should include environmental sustainability, cultural preservation and long term socio-economic benefits.

“Promote and market tourism destinations, which entail raising brand awareness using different media platforms.

“Also, in the national interest, instead of criticizing tourism policies and actions, it is necessary that you seek audience or make inquiries to establish facts on ground about what is being done or what should be done.  

“Although Nigeria is facing security challenges, it is necessary to assure tourists, through your reporting and writing, that it is not true that the entire country in engulfed by insecurity. The greater part of the country is still safe for tourist visit. Put out information that will boost the confidence of tourists,” Dogo stressed.

Concluding his presentation, Dogo noted that Nigerian journalists and tourism writers are critical stakeholders in the promotion of sustainable tourism development in Nigeria.

“Among other things, they have a duty to raise awareness on the great potentials and benefits of the tourism industry in growing the Nigerian economy.

“However, for them to make the desired impact, they must observe the journalism code of ethics while using effective communication skills to disseminate information on tourism.

“The ultimate goal is to ensure that national interest overrides any primordial interests in promoting the tourism industry,” he said.

According to Dogo, effective communication remains key to achieving the desired result in destination promotion in a country like Nigeria.

Delivering his paper titled; ‘Tourism Communication: Bridging the Public and Private Sector Communication Gap,’ the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, charged the tourism and travel media practitioners to continue to perform as change agents and influencers in the tourism industry, as according to him, Nigeria deserves to be a top destination in Africa, and the world.

Otunba Runsewe also advocated a centralised industry engagement platform driven by the tourism media where critical issues on the sector could be examined and solutions proffered, further adding that such fora would engender effective collaboration and co- competition desirable to build a strong cultural tourism economy.

“For communication to be effective, the communicator must have a firm grip of the subject matter. Since you cannot give what you do not have, it follows naturally that you cannot communicate what you do not understand.

“Communication in the tourism sector is therefore of critical importance in promoting and marketing destinations, attracting tourists and building robust relationship among the various stakeholders involved in the tourism business. It is important to point out that tourism is the fastest growing export industry accounting for about 330 million people worldwide. In a competitive environment where tourism has to cater for the diverse range of visitors in order to maintain the market positions, strategic communication in tourism is imperative.

“The tourism industry is competitive. Therefore, effective communication and networking are necessary to draw attention to the facilities and resources in a destination in order to attract potential visitors. This can be achieved by targeting the right audience with the right message on what can make experience memorable in a particular destination,” the NCAC boss said.

Runsewe further proffered solutions to the tourism media to plank their advocacies on in the sector going forward, which according to him, include, the imperative of the Federal Government in establishing a stand-alone ministry for tourism.

The NCAC boss also advocated media practitioners driving strategic partnership among key stakeholders and operators in the travel and tourism sector of the economy.

Runsewe further charged the media to position themselves for the task of agenda setting in the industry, in addition to leading the charge in the change campaign which he posited, would reposition the industry and its operators for effective mining of its potential, among other interventions he tasked the tourism reporters with.

Concluding, Runsewe praised the organised tourism media for rising to the huge challenges and obstacles in reporting the sector, adding that, on his part, he would mobilize other ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs) of government to invest in capacity building programmes for the tourism media practitioners.

He equally commended the Director General of NIHOTOUR, Nura Kangiwa for ‘sustaining the tourism media training masterclass series over the years.’

“Nura Kangiwa is moving the tourism and hospitality vocational training intervention to the next level, and I must commend his interest in encouraging the best practices of tourism journalism without which Nigeria will not take its rightful place in the history of tourism comity of nations.”

The one-day Tourism Masterclass for ANJET members was organised on the sidelines of the 2023 Gastronomy Festival headline activity of NIHOTOUR.

The annual culinary event gathers hundreds of participants, including foreign embassy contingents and local and international food and beverages enthusiasts and gourmets alike under one roof.

This year’s edition which held inside the Main Hall of the International Conference Centre, Abuja was headlined by celebrated chef from Spain, Alex Marugan, courtesy of the Embassy of Spain in Nigeria, who also in addition conducted a Masterclass session for some select culinary schools in Nigeria as part of NIHOTOUR’s mandate to train and share best practices and emerging global trends of culinary arts.

Also, current Guinness World Record (GWR) holder for longest marathon cooking by an individual, Miss Hilda Effiong Bassey, coloured the festival.

The theme for this year’s festival was; “Culinary Arts: The Gate Way to Growing Tourism Destination”.