NIHOTOUR: Stop the Confusion in Nigeria Tourism – FTAN President

President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), the umbrella body of hotels, tour and cruise

operators and other tourism-reliant organisations in the country, Mr. Nkereuwem Onung has called on the federal government to review the NIHOTOUR’s 2022 Act.

He said that its implementation was causing confusion in the tourism industry, especially in the hospitality segment now.

The apex private sector tourism body (FTAN ) must have taken a position backing its members following the fight between the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) and hotel owners in the country over regulatory policy.

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In a statement, the FTAN stated that they had reacted following the untidy result of forceful attempt by the management of the NIHOTOUR in enforcing NIHOTOUR Act of 2022, in respect of regulation and standardisation of the operations and personnel in the tourism sector.

The FTAN said they had written to the federal government through the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, to immediately wade into the crisis and put a stop to the ongoing hotel registration enforcement by NIHOTOUR.

NIHOTOUR, which is the only tourism training school in the country, has changed its role from training institute to regulatory institution amid criticism.

Crisis erupted recently in Lagos in an attempt by NIHOTOUR to forcefully implement the Act, which led to the arrest of some of the hotel operators and disruption of business in some of the hotels visited by the compliance team of NIHOTOUR.

The visits were said to have been accomplished by a truckload of policemen.

FTAN, which had before now expressed its reservation over the Act on the ground that it contravenes the extant laws of the land and that it goes against the grains of professional practice, in the letter dated June 16, 2025, and signed by the Federation’s President, Nkereuwem Onung, called on the Minister ( Musawa) to intervene and bring clarity to the Nigeria tourism and hospitality industry.

It said that the NIHOTOUR Establishment Act of 2022 was creating confusion in the tourism tourism industry.

“We are aware that the current Director General of NIHOTOUR, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is attempting to implement the spirit and the letters of the NIHOTOUR (Establishment) Act 2022. It has already generated conflicts and confusion in the industry and the Federation does not subscribe to such.

“We, therefore, call on the Honorable Minister, to act immediately to save the Hospitality and Tourism industry from chaos and imminent collapse due to the confusion of objectives, powers and roles of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) under its establishment Act 2022 (“NIHOTOUR Act” or “the Act”), as well as their conflicting interests and unconstitutionality.”

FTAN noted that there was confusion in the tourism industry in Nigeria on the role, powers, and objectives of the institute. It read: “When on the 14th of February 2022, the then President of the Federation, General Mohammadu Buhari, signed the Nigeria Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) Acts into law, there was no reason, despite the unsatisfactorily inadequate consultation with stakeholders before their enactments, to believe that the NIHOTOUR Act would generate such confusion and disorder in the industry.

“However, the reality of the inelegance of the Act is now unfolding and foreboding. Under the Act, it is not clear whether NIHOTOUR functions as a professional body or a training/academic body, or a regulatory body or a body covering all of the three functional areas ”

FTAN, in the letter, drew the attention of the Minister to some of the inconsistencies in the act, stating, “Sections 4 and 5 of the Act specified functions and powers of NIHOTOUR respectively. Section 6 established the Board, whose powers are also spelt out under section 9. Part VI (Sections 28 to 31) of the Act made elaborate provisions on how to become a “member of the profession.

‘‘The provisions of these sections raise a lot of questions as to whether NIHOTOUR is a professional body in the hospitality and tourism in industry.’’ It lamented the unwinding nature of the provisions of the Act, which it said has lumped together over four major functions for which NIHOTOUR has a parastatal and training institute lacks the capacity to implement as it is neither set up or equipped for such functions.

The Federation concluded thus; ‘‘with so many inconsistencies in the Act it was impossible for NIHOTOUR to carry on with the functions and powers as presently provided in the NIHOTOUR Act 2022 not only because they are unwieldy, invalid, irrational and counterproductive, but also because it is inherently impossible to do so.’’

This is as it maintained that the way forward, ‘‘is a complete overhaul of the NIHOTUR Act 2022, so that NIHOTOUR can play the role only of a regulator, a professional body, or an operator in the industry; but not that of a behemoth combining the three clearly distinct roles. Such will strangle and spell doom for, as it is already doing to the industry.”