The Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Dr Abisoye Fagade, has stated that no individual should practise within the tourism sector without obtaining certification from the institute.
The NIHOTOUR Establishment Bill, which was enacted in 2022, officially designates the agency as the regulatory authority for Nigeria’s hospitality, travel, and tourism industry.
Speaking in Ilorin, Kwara State, during an interview, Dr Fagade disclosed that since assuming office on 24 February 2025, he has outlined strategic plans to raise standards within the industry and transform it into a significant revenue source for the country.
“I think we need to have standardisation.
As it were today, the sector that we all practise in doesn’t have any formal structure.
Nobody is checking the standards, and without that, you can’t measure our gain. Before now, we didn’t even know what tourism, hospitality, and travel basically are. Nobody can say specifically, this is what we are bringing to our GDP.
And then, when I resumed, the first thing I asked was, what is the instrument of this office? And fortunately for us, we have an Act which is very strong and impactful, so I realised that we need to start from there,” he said.
On the importance of setting industry benchmarks, Dr Fagade noted:
“Standards can ensure benefits from all the touchpoints of tourism.
When I came in, there was almost zero data.
But as I speak today, I have 2,700 people who have registered freely.”
He also shared his vision for the sector:
“My objective is to see how tourism can contribute a minimum of 9–10% to our GDP.
The foundation is very simple: we understand the critical role of the stakeholders. We have been engaging with stakeholders from different levels. What we are trying to do now is, we want to know the operators in the industry.”
How do you intend to achieve this?
“First things first, we need to assume the roles of the regulatory body. You all have to come to terms that NIHOTOUR is here to regulate the tourism practitioners in the industry.
And that’s where we are beginning. So, for me, it’s not going to be the first year of jamboree. Things we’ll be doing this year are going to be more of stakeholders’ engagement to understand ourselves, understand our needs, and then build on that.
When there are standards and people know that there are rules, you will have better results, and training needs will be met as we go along.”
What have you achieved since resuming office earlier this year?
“So far, we have been able to successfully engage most of the stakeholders, but I intend to start with regulations.
We are encouraging registration. What we are doing right now is, we want to start from the top down. We want to know who and who are the management of hotels, the management of training institutions that we have, and the management of restaurants.
By the time we capture the management and they understand the need for the industry to have proper training and structure, it makes our job easier. So now we are at that level where we put the structure in place to register the top management who are the operators in tourism.
By the time we capture that, it is easier to understand our directions.”
Beyond certification, what role will NIHOTOUR play in training?
“Well, the kind of training we will be doing in NIHOTOUR is called Continuous Professional Development CPD training that would enhance development in terms of their career.
So, rather than do the rudimentary training, which would need a lot of structure, we leave that to people who are ready to invest in training to do that and make an adequate return on their investment. But they must have a properly skilled training set. So basically, NIHOTOUR will be doing more of CPD training, management training, and middle-level training for people.”
With the NIHOTOUR Establishment Act now in force, the institute is positioned to drive professionalism, certification, and career development in Nigeria’s fast-growing tourism sector.
