The President of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators, NATOP, Hajia Bolaji Mustapha, says the commissioning of the association’s first secretariat in Lagos marks a turning point for professionalism and visibility in Nigeria’s tourism sector.
Speaking at the event ahead of the association’s 10th Annual General Meeting set to hold in Lagos, Mustapha said the secretariat was conceived to give NATOP a physical presence in the global tourism space.
“This is the first time in history that Natop is having a secretariat. The essence is for us to be visible so that they know where to locate us. We need a location and I pray that by the grace of God we have our own permanent site where we’ll be located but this is the beginning,” she said.
The NATOP President explained that the facility was designed as more than just an office. It includes workspaces and meeting areas for members and clients.
“That’s why we have a workstation for members to come in and do their work while they’re being asked for any requests. We have a workstation, we have a small lounge that you can have a private meeting with maybe your clients or anything and we have a conference room, you can rent a space for hours or for the whole day and you pay us,” she stated.
According to her, the secretariat will also serve as an “experience center” to promote Nigeria’s tourism offerings.
“It’s just a place for us to promote tourism in Nigeria and enhance the secretariat, so that’s the whole essence. So to the customers visibility is the sweetness of business.”
On whether the new structure will address the problem of quackery in tour operations, Mustapha was emphatic that visibility will force professionalism.
“It’s going to go a long way. When Natop is visible other quacks will no longer have any option than to fall in line, do their business professionally. Natop is Nigeria association of tour operators and it is strictly for professionals.”
She added that the association will now position itself to train intending operators and encourage clients to patronize only certified professionals.
“Some people that will just wake up one morning and start writing content as being a tour operator overnight, that is not accepteable and that’s why we’re positioning ourselves to say come on let’s train you to be a professional and clients should actually align to deal with professionals only and that’s why this has come to be. That’s even the whole essence of being visible.”
Outlining her vision for the association, Mustapha said the AGM was an opportunity to set the agenda for deeper partnerships and infrastructure development.
Some of her key priorities include:
- Partnering with embassies to create a verified database of tour operators so that visa processes are streamlined and only professionals are engaged.
- Working with federal and state ministries to ensure smooth operations for tour operators across the country.
- Developing tourist sites in collaboration with state and federal governments.
- Building a bigger, permanent secretariat — “a big content house where to actually host people.”
“So many things to actually achieve and one of which is actually to have our own big secretariate, a big content house where to actually host people and of course to develop all the tourist sites at least working with the states, with the federal governments.”
With the new secretariat now operational, NATOP says it is better positioned to coordinate members, sanitize the sector, and project Nigeria’s domestic tourism potential to both local and international audiences.
