Hospitality Industry: NIHOTOUR DG calls for collaborative efforts amongst key players

Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Alhaji Nura Kangiwa has called for a strong collaborative effort amongst all key players in the hospitality and tourism industry.

He stated this while welcoming Officials of the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria led by its Chairman Mrs. Ebikaboere Seimodei who came on a courtesy visit to the DG during the week to seek for collaboration on manpower training for practitioners in the industry. He said continuous upgrade training is key to competent professional practice and quality service delivery if the industry is to perform optimally in line with global best practice.

He stated further that this is the more reason why the Institute has embarked on more outreach efforts to get operators and critical stakeholders key into training programmes offered by the Institute to perfect professional conducts and practices in all relevant segments of the hospitality and tourism industry which the country looks up to as a viable and vibrant sector of the nation's economy.

The Director General noted that with the inauguration of the Hospitality and Tourism Sector Skills Council of Nigeria (HTSSCN), enforcement of training requirements, professional competence and proficiency in all cadres and levels of professional practice in the industry will soon be monitored to ensure compliance with the requisite needs of all practitioners.

Kangiwa then called for stronger ties between the NIHOTOUR and ITPN as training providers and certifying Institute to promote the culture of regular professional training and upgrade of practitioners in the industry that will enable Nigerians occupy high office positions against the practice where only expatriates are offered key positions particularly in the hospitality sub-sector of the industry.

Earlier in her address, leader of the delegation and Chairman of the FCT

Chapter of ITPN, Mrs. Seimodei said they were at the Institute to congratulate Alhaji Kangiwa over his appointment as well as solicit for his support in training and professional upgrade of its members and practitioners of the industry in the utmost quest to promote competency of professional practice and quality service delivery in the industry.

Mrs. Seimodei who expressed her dismay on the practice where expatriates are considered and placed above their Nigerian counterparts in terms of job positions and remunerations, appealed for a reversal of the trends as it is highly unjust, unfair and should not be tolerated to continue in the industry.

She then called for monitoring of professional conducts and practices of operators in the industry to ensure compliance and quality output on the job by practitioners, saying that this will bring about improved service delivery and better practice in the industry.