President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Madrid, Spain expressed the readiness of Nigeria to host the first-ever Global Conference on Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industry in November this year in a conducive environment.
Buhari gave the assurance while speaking during a visit to the headquarters of the United Nations World Trade Organization in the Spanish capital at the beginning of his State Visit to the country.
This was contained in a statement titled ‘As Nigeria hosts tourism conference, President Buhari welcomes the world’, and signed by Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina.
Addressing his host, Buhari described the granting of the hosting rights as ”further proof of Nigeria’s support for the vision of the organization and also an affirmation of the confidence reposed in our country by your organization.’’
He noted that the event would provide yet another opportunity for the country to showcase its tourism and creative industry to the whole world.
“It will also serve as an opportunity to extend our warm hospitality to the world and introduce the country’s leisure and business sectors to potential investors. We have not-so-well-known wonders to reveal!”
President Buhari assured participants from across the world of “a safe and secure environment as well as excellent facilities,” adding, “we look forward to welcoming all participants.”
In his remarks, UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, said Buhari’s visit was a direct confirmation of how important tourism is to Nigeria, describing Nigeria as “a big country with huge resources in culture, nature, and diversity.
“We have a long-term commitment with Nigeria to develop tourism and attract more and more tourists to Nigeria. The numbers are very small at the moment and I think it’s a shame. Nigeria has to receive much more tourists to see the beauty and meet the people.”