Tourism Care and Hospitality Association of Nigeria (TCHAN), one of the most practical promoters of tourism in Nigeria, has honoured the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN), Publisher of the Tribune titles, with an award of excellence for steadily promoting and dedicating a special pullout to tourism.

The president of the association, Mr Martin Ojeifor, who paid a courtesy visit to the Tribune House, recently, for the presentation of the award came with other TCHAN members, among whom were the Public Relation Officer, Mr Freeman Okosun, Secretary, Mr Moses Ogunleye, administrative officer, Mrs Rosemary Okenchi and the auditor, Taiwo Olajide.

According to Ojeifor, “We cannot work in isolation as a tourism association, we need the support of the media and without mincing words, the Tribune newspapers have significantly been a driving force that has put us on the track of consistency in the promotion of tourism.

“We have no other way to show our appreciation than giving them the tourism award as an honour for consistency and also are form of encouragement to sustain the wonderful works they display on their tourism pages.

Corroborating the position, Mr Ogunleye and Okosun respectively commended the Tribune management for dedicating six pages to the promotion of tourism in Nigeria, adding that the platform created by the pages it not inspiring but also educating.

“The Tribune Tourism Magazine (TTM) has not only taken the lead in tourism promotion and agenda setting but also broadened people’s tourism horizon, which is evident in the TCHAN.

“We have a couple of projects we are working on and we will want to partner with the Tribune newspapers to actualize the projects.

On the inclusion of ‘care and hospitality’ in the name of the association (Tourism Care and Hospitality Association of Nigeria), Ogunleye disclosed that the word care and hospitality were included to semantically make the objective of the association clearer for the non professionals to understand.

“The duo however pointed out that when the association was going by the name Tourism Association of Nigeria (TAN), people did not understand what they were talking about. “So, we decided to include care and hospitality to give a sense of belonging to some fractions of the special people (the physically inpared) in society, who were aggrieved that they were not being carried along.”

Speaking on behalf of the Editor of the Tribune titles, the Editor, Tribune Tourism Magazine (TTM), Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre, said: “I see TAN as one of the responsive tourism associations in town because its displays a crop of people with genuine interest of tourism at heart; who spend personal time, money and ceaseless efforts to promote activities that drive tourism.

“Your activities in tourism have stood you out among others, which put you on the same pedestal with associations like the FTAN, NANTA, NATOP among others.

Ojo-Lanre, in a candor manner noted, “It is a pity that Nigerian government does not know the important of tourism and they have all along treated issues pertaining to the industry with kid gloves.

In Nigeria, most governments do not know anything about tourism and this has led to the appointment of novices to be in charge of some state tourism apparatus, which has made tourism promotion and development slow. In addition, this is because they see tourism as a new area that they believe is not lucrative. But I know that, in the nearest future, thing tourism will take a new shape and start to thrive.

However, I know that in the shortest of time, Nigerians with start to understand tourism and also, I want to encourage you not to rest on your oars in sustaining the tempo of your activities at promoting human- driven tourism programmes in Nigeria.

“Imagine if you people had not taken the giant step to promote tourism, who would have known about its benefits and how to key into its activities.

“Even when the government is not helping, you have to be on your feet, inventing tourism programmes that will not only develop human consciousness but also generate tourism benefits for members and the communities where you operate.

“Also, on your preparation for the forthcoming World Tourism Day celebration, I want to encourage you to collaborate with relevant government agencies or better still celebrate it the usual way, where your association will rally and educate people through lectures and seminars.”

The TTM editor however promised to facilitate any manner of collaboration that would promote and add value to the practical objective of the tourism association.

“On behalf of the African Newspapers of Nigeria, publishers of the Tribune titles, we at the Tribune Tourism Magazine desk are ready to profitably synergise with the Tourism Care and Hospitality Association of Nigeria (TCHAN) to drive any project that will not only promote and develop tourism in Nigeria but also benefit the duo.