The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) is an agency of the Nigerian state, and specifically the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and National Orientation, responsible for the overall development of the country's tourism.
History
editIn 1962, the Nigerian Tourist Association was established,[1] without regulatory authorities. In 1976, the Supreme Military Council ruling the country issued Decree No. 54 that created the Nigeria Tourism Board, the country’s first tourism regulatory body.[2]
The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation was established in 1992 by Decree No. 81.[3]
The National Council on Commerce and Tourism was also created and entrusted with the coordination of the planning and development of tourism. The Minister of Commerce and Tourism chaired the council, in which state commissioners for commerce and tourism, representatives of travel agents, hoteliers and catering associations, tour operators, and various airlines were represented.[4]
After the country's transition to civil government, in 1999, the new Constitution limited the regulatory power of the federal government “to tourist traffic alone.”[2]
In 2017, the Nigerian Senate voted to amend the 1992 Act,[5] in renaming the agency as the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority and, among other things, allow it to set up a tour operating company, named National Travel Bureau, that would offer services within and outside Nigeria. The act places the tour operator under "private-sector principles" in the sense that it "shall ensure that the revenue accruing to the Bureau from services provided by the Bureau are not less than sufficient to meet the total cost of providing these services."[6]
Structure
editThe department has zonal offices at Bauchi, Calabar, Kano, Lagos, Lokoja and Jos, each headed by a zonal coordinator.
Sally Uwechue-Mbanefo was Director General until she was dismissed in November 2016. After three persons held the post in an "acting" capacity, Folorunsho Coker was appointed Director General in March 2017.[7][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ About us, NTDS website
- ^ a b "Brewing War over Tourism". This Day. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Act to establish the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation and for matters connected therewith" (PDF). FAO. Government of Nigeria. 14 December 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ Bankole, Abiodun (2002). "The Nigerian Tourism Sector: Economic Contribution, Constraints, and Opportunities". Journal of Hospitality Financial Management. 10 (1).
- ^ "Senate Passes the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Bill". Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, Nigeria. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Ojo, Demola (27 August 2017). "NTDC Amendment: Funding, Standalone Tourism Ministry and other Matters". This Day. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Folarin-Coker Returns as NTDC Boss". This Day. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Presidency confirms Folorunsho Coker as DG NTDC, Adedayo Thomas as DG NFVCB". Daily Post. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
External links
edit- "Devolution of tourism administration and Kogi initiative" by Frank Meke, The Sun : the argument for a separate ministry for tourism