The Nigerian Government announced that it will set up a Tourism Academy in Lagos in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is currently working with some private sector players.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed on Friday  at the graduation of the first set of trainees of the Terra Kulture-owned Terra Academy For the Arts (TAFTA)

The Minister added that the Academy will provide accessible vocational and managerial transformative training for the tourism and hospitality sector.

Academy: Lai Mohammed said Nigeria was chosen in recognition of its giant strides in the Creative Industry, which was approved during the global conference on Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industry held in Lagos last November, he added plans to work with Nollywood to positively change Africa’s image, the statement read:

• “The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Federal Government and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) are currently working with some private sector players to establish a Tourism Academy in Lagos.
• “The Minister disclosed this in Lagos on Friday at the graduation of the first set of trainees of the Terra Kulture-owned Terra Academy For the Arts (TAFTA) saying the Academy will provide accessible vocational and managerial transformative training for the tourism and hospitality sector.
• “We are very keen to expand the opportunities available to our youths through training. I am therefore happy to announce that we are currently working with the UNWTO and some private sector players to establish a Tourism Academy in Nigeria.
• “In recognition of our country’s giant strides in the Creative Industry, Nigeria was chosen as one of the two countries in Africa to host the Academy, the UNWTO also plans to work with Nollywood to positively change Africa’s image.”

65,000 youths: He added that the Academy targets 65,000 youths between the ages of 16 and 35 for training in the next five years and will be complemented by organizations such as TAFTA to train Nigerian youths on how to be gainfully employed through their creative abilities, he said:

• “Tourism Academy will be complemented by organizations such as TAFTA to train Nigerian youths on how to be gainfully employed through their creative abilities.
• “With TAFTA targeting 65,000 youths between the ages of 16 and 35 for training in the next five years, I can say without equivocation that TAFTA is contributing its own quota – and it’s a huge quota – to efforts to solve the youth unemployment problem in Nigeria,”

He praised the founder of TAFTA, Mrs Austen-Peters stating they have now established an online academy set up to create a platform for indigent youths to learn technical skills in the areas of light design, sound design, animation and script writing, among others.