نائيجيريا ۾ نائجري ڊيلٽا تي هڪ نئون مليو سياحتي امڪان

• The Niger Delta is the Delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria.
• The Niger Delta is known for Piracy, armed gangs, and oil spills, making the development of tourism a challenge.
• چيئرمين ، Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, Samuel Numonengi however feels poor Information dissemination as the bane of tourism development in the Niger Delta Region.

Travel and Tourism is an industry of peace. This may be a chance for people in the Niger Delta in Nigeria to build on. A joker in this effort may be coming from Jamaica.

Nowhere on Earth do pirates strike more often than in the Gulf of Guinea, where more than 130 sailors were taken hostage last year.

Research by the World Conservation Union and Nigerian government agencies indicate that on average every year over the past 50 years the oil spilled in Nigeria has been equivalent to the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

The area is more dangerous than the Somali coast. The EU wants to do something about it.

The US State Department states about travel to Nigeria: Reconsider travel to Nigeria due to جرم, دهشتگردي, سول بدامني, اغوا، ۽ maritime crime. Exercise increased caution due to COVID19. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory.

A 2018 study on the Niger Delta Region and the development of tourism summarizes:

The main thrust of this study was to examine sea robbery and its implication on tourism development in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.

With the opening of a Tourism Welcome Center He said the public perception of the region which is based on hearsay is detrimental to the socio-economic development of this Nigerian region, stressing that it is high time our people began to give their own narrative of the story to correct the earlier misrepresentations about the region.

چيئرمين ، Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, Samuel Numonengi has decried poor Information dissemination as the bane of tourism development in the Niger Delta Region.

Numonengi described the absence of proper documentation of the rich cultural heritage of the Ijaws as a huge challenge in promoting the tourism potentials.

He noted that millions of jobs and businesses are dependent on a strong and thriving tourism sector. Tourism has been a driving force in protecting natural and cultural heritage, preserving them for future generations to enjoy

He said Visitor Information Centres (VICs), otherwise known as “Tourist Information Centres or Welcome Centres, are primarily established to provide travelers with helpful information to improve their stay in the particular destination visited.

Numonengi said the Ernest Ikoli Visitor Information Centre Management Committee is expected to provide a friendly and welcoming environment for visitors who are visiting the state for the first time to have vital information about tourism products and services, as well as provide travel advice or guide for such tourists.

He explained that members of the management committee of Ernest Ikoli Visitor Information Centre who were carefully selected are expected to embark on tourism promotional activities by way of marketing local tourism products and services to create a direct impact on the local economy with a view to enhancing the recreational well‐being of both residents and visitors. 

According to the State Council Chairman, the initiative is part of the Bayelsa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists to complement the socio-economic development efforts of the prosperity administration under Senator Douye Diri. 

The Ernest Ikoli Visitor Information Centre Management Committee has chairman of Travel Writers Corps of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bayelsa State Council, Piriye Kiyaramo as Director-General, while Secretary of the State Council of the NUJ, Comrade Ogio Ipigansi is to serve as secretary.

Other members include: Former state chairman of the union, Tarinyo Akono, former state secretary, C Stanley Imgbi, Coordinator òf International Institute of journalism (IIJ), Yenagoa Study Centre, Roland Elekele and Business Manager of Silverbird FM Oxbow Lake Swali-Yenagoa, Oyins Egrebindo

Also appointed are General Manager Peoples’ FM, Oxbow-Lake, Lawson Heyford, General Manager of Royal  FM, Agudama, Tudor Ayah, Acting General Manager of Bayelsa Broadcasting Corporation, Terence Ekiseh, Mr. Tonye Yemoleigha (Radio Bayelsa), Mr. Fiezibe Osain (Ministry of Information), Mr. Agidee Theophilus (Africa Independent Television), Editor-in-Chief of New Waves, Peace Sinclair, former National Ex-officio of NAWOJ, Beatrice Sikpi and former Zonal Vice President of National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs. Timi Idoko.

Responding, Director-General of the Ernest Ikoli Visitor Information Centre, Comrade Piriye Kiyaramo, who also doubles as chairman, Travel Writers Corps of the NUJ, thanked the leadership of the state council for finding him and other members worthy to serve, just as he promised to deliver on the mandate given to them. 

It will be recalled that a destination visitor information center, sometimes referred to as a “Welcome Centre” provides a one-stop, physical location from which travelers can connect to local businesses and services.

In addition, the visitor information center is expected to provide a space to generate revenue through the sale of merchandise and local handicrafts as well as capture and analyze important traveler information and statistics for planning purposes.

A month ago Jamaica Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), Edmund Bartlett, has announced that discussions are now underway for the establishment of a satellite center of the GTRCMC in Nigeria. May be this is a good first step to launch travel and tourism in one of the strongest and most important region in Africa.

هن African Tourism Board welcome this initiative in Nigeria and is ready to assist when asked.