The Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) has called for a clearer distinction and harmonization of roles between government agencies and the private sector in the development of the country’s tourism sector.
Speaking on Friday, August 29, 2025, in Abuja, Mr. Ovie Richard Esewhaye, Director overseeing the Office of the Director-General of NTDA, stressed the need for synergy among institutions, noting that overlapping mandates and regulatory duplication are stifling growth and discouraging investment in the industry.
Delivering a paper titled “Harmonizing the Roles of Government and the Private Sector in Tourism Development,” Esewhaye explained that a strong institutional framework, in line with UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) best practices, requires three distinct but complementary bodies:
- A National Ministry of Tourism, responsible for policy formulation and oversight.
- A National Tourism and Hospitality Institute (NTHI), such as NIHOTOUR in Nigeria, dedicated to training, certification, and human capacity development.
- A National Tourism Organization (NTO), such as the NTDA, mandated to regulate, promote, and standardize the tourism industry.
He warned that the current regulatory practices of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), particularly its 2025 regulations, extend beyond its training mandate into NTDA’s statutory functions of classification, grading, and regulation of tourism establishments.
“This duplication of functions creates confusion, leads to multiple taxation, and undermines the government’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ agenda,” Esewhaye stated.
According to him, NIHOTOUR’s attempt to regulate hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies encroaches on NTDA’s mandate as provided by the NTDA Act 2022, which empowers the authority to accredit, classify, and grade hospitality and tourism enterprises.
He highlighted concerns about:
- Multiple standards that confuse industry operators,
- Regulatory conflicts between NTDA and NIHOTOUR,
- Additional levies that amount to double taxation, and
- Bureaucratic bottlenecks that deter investment.
To resolve the issues, Esewhaye recommended:
- A redrafting of NIHOTOUR’s 2025 regulations to reflect its role as a training institute rather than a regulator.
- A joint NTDA–NIHOTOUR Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to clearly define mandates and foster cooperation.
- Creation of a technical committee to explain agency roles to stakeholders.
- Review of NIHOTOUR’s fees, charges, and public communication, especially removing claims that present it as a regulator.
He also reaffirmed NTDA’s ongoing work with state governments and ECOWAS to domesticate a unified hotel classification and grading system across Nigeria, which, he said, will enhance quality assurance and global competitiveness.
“NIHOTOUR should focus on the who and the how of tourism—training and certifying skilled personnel—while NTDA focuses on the what and the where—regulating establishments and enterprises,” Esewhaye concluded.
The NTDA emphasized that a collaborative, non-duplicative framework between agencies, the private sector, and host communities is vital if Nigeria is to unlock tourism’s full potential as a driver of jobs, cultural preservation, and economic growth.
