Emeka Anokwuru
The Institute for Tourism Professionals (ITP) has disclosed plans to host the second edition of the National Tourism Transport Summit and Expo, from April 29 to 30, 2019, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the Ministry of Transportation.
This edition, with an international dimension, is tagged the International Tourism Transport Summit and Expo, with the theme “Tourism and Transportation Interdependencies for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.”
Participants at the two-day event will be drawn from major stakeholders in the transportation and tourism sectors, as well as from the international community in critical areas such as air transportation, airlines, travel and tour operations, aviation administrators, the maritime industry, which includes sea transport, boats and sea cruising operators, road transportation, including major transport owners, car hire services, Uber, NURTW, RTEAN, road traffic and safety agencies such as the FRSC, NPF, NSCDC, motor insurance companies, state transport ministries, agencies and rail transport services.
Others are operators of the tourism and hospitality outfits, including tourism resort operators, National Parks Service, museums and monuments, state tourism ministries and boards, festivals and tourism event managers, hoteliers, restaurants and fast food operators, conferences and event managers, as well as service providers in banking, oil and gas.
The summit will begin with the Host City Walk on Saturday, April 27, while the expo will start onApril 29 and end on the 30th. The events will be rounded off with an award and gala night, while the entire programme will end with the Host City Walk again on May 1.
The conference is being organised on the premise of approval from the National Council on Transportation at its meeting in Sokoto in 2017 as well as the approval by the Federal Executive Council that the Institute for Tourism Professionals, in collaboration with the ministries of Transportation, Information and Culture, the organised private sector and NGOs should hold annually a summit and exposition on transportation and tourism with the objective of deepening the connectivity between the sectors for maximum inclusive growth and sustainable development of the Nigerian economy.
Organiser of the event, Abiodun Odusanwo, said the expo offers a unique opportunity for policymakers, regulators, entrepreneurs, players in the tourism and transport, investors, customers and the public to engage in healthy discourse aimed at charting the desired synergy, collaboration and connectivity between the two sectors for the optimum benefit of the country.