The annual celebration of the World Tourism Day today September 27th, is an opportunity for we as a people, to showcase a tourism product, that is appealing to everyone, and accepted as an integral part of our culture and tradition,” says Tourism icon, Otunba Olawanle Akinboboye.
In his official felicitation message of the day to practitioners in the tourism industry, Otunba Olawanle Akinboboye said that, “Today, September 27th, is an opportunity given to the entire tourism industry of each country, to come up with tourism product which could be locally branded and later then exported universally, to the global community.
“The world has given this particular day to our industry. It is an opportunity for us to create a tourism product, to enable the industry to thrive. The industry cannot thrive based on only singing and dancing and holding of seminars. World Tourism Day should be used as a day for us to project new products within our tourism ecosystem, so that the world can know that on World Tourism Day, a particular product was launched by us and we can sell that to the world.
“It is not enough for people around the world to focus only on how well we dance or how well we sang or how well we praise – worship World Tourism Day on September 27th of every year. The world should also on this day, look forward to, and pay attention to what we showcase! We should showcase today and offer today, what can benefit the world, what can benefit tour operators. We should offer them products they can sell around the world.
This year for instance, we had an opportunity to showcase Olojo Festival to the world as our World Tourism Day tourism product! Imagine if as a country, we had risen up, the entire private sector and public sector, to market this singular festival for today’s celebration. Imagine the funds that would have been generated, the goodwill too. And then next year, we can take another one like the Ofala festival, and adopt it as the world Tourism Day product and the following year, we adopt the Durbar festival, as the world Tourism Day product and so on. That way, we grow our tourism products into international reckoning and increase the income and earnings in our industry.
“Attractions do not generate revenue, it is only when an attraction can transform to a destination, that funds will be generated. So, we should not just join the world in this laudable celebration, but also offer the world, something they can benefit, so that every year, everybody will be mindful of this day and event, and when they are mindful, they will come for this event. And when they come, they will spend money on welfare, they will spend money on transportation, they will buy food and drinks, they will buy artifact in Ile Ife for instance, and they will see businesses that they can engage in that town,” Otunba Olawanle Akinboboye added.
