By Fidelia Femi-Adedoyin
The Delta State Commissioner, for Culture and Tourism, Lawrence Ejiofor has charged the Hospitality and Tourism Enterprises (HTEs) in the State to brace up and be prepared for the tourism hub that Delta is fast becoming.
The Commissioner gave this charge at a one day hospitality colloquium training/workshop for Hoteliers/operators put together by the State Tourism Board, at Nelrose Hotel Asaba.
Speaking at the event, Ejiofor who gave the keynote address made a list of the tourism projects the State Government has embarked upon including the the Leisure park and film village and the Lander Brother’s anchorage which when completed will certainly be a tourist hub.
He said that “with all these projects in place, the massive turnaround and human traffic into the state which will in turn transform the economy need not be over emphasized.
The need therefore to train, retrain and prepare the workforce sector particularly the HTEs who are the first recipients of tourists. They must be taken seriously and all hands must be on deck not only to utilize the emerging dividend, but also be prepared for the challenges therein to enhance the sector”.
To this effect, the Commissioner announced his approval of the compulsory registration of HTEs with their parent association as it will henceforth be a criteria for the issuance of Certificate of registration.
He said the government will continue to do her best but charged the participants at the training to utilize the opportunity to gain as much knowledge as possible to better their establishments.
The General Manager Tourism Board, Josphine Ogbolu, said the event was organized for senior management staff of the HTEs across Delta. She said the goal is for the trained to be able to train other members of staff for the purpose of improving service delivery.
The resources persons at the event include; Alhaji Muritala Bankole, MD, Hocal Hospitality Lagos, Engr. Chibuikem Diala, Lead Consultant Sustainable Eco6tems Limited, Excel Opuaru, Managing Director, XcellenciO Hospitality, and others.
