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Lai Mohammed’s speech at the opening of UNWTO conference

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Lai Mohammed

Being full text of speech delivered by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the opening of the UNWTO global conference with the theme ‘Linking Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Inclusive Development’, held in Lagos on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

I am most delighted to address this very important gathering and to thank you all most sincerely for honouring our invitation to the First-ever United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Conference on ‘Linking Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Inclusive Development’.

  1. Your presence here today confirms the passion and the zeal of the stakeholders to move these sectors forward. I am glad to see many important personalities, experts, professionals and distinguished industry representatives. Tourism, culture and the creative industries, which are the focus of this conference, play critical roles in the economies, prosperity and growth of many countries globally.
  2. The purpose of this conference is to fast-track our objective of transforming the tourism sector into a preferred sector, and the creative industry into a creative economy. That is the overarching objective, against the background of the government’s intention of supporting and facilitating an enabling environment for the true business growth of tourism and the creative industry.
  3. The hosting of this conference is a strong affirmation of Nigeria’s position as a trusted business hub, and a safe harbour for capital, talent and intellectual property. In the lead-up to the conference, Nigeria hosted the 2022 UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Week in Abuja, from 24th to 28th October 2022. Through the progressive scaling-up of our MICE events (with MICE here standing for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions), we intend to build public confidence and increase our operational readiness to host international events. The hosting of these events in quick succession by the Nigerian government is also a testament to the increasing readiness, safety and security of our cities to play host to global events.
  4. This conference is very important in the history of the UNWTO and Nigeria, because it marks the very first time that the organization, in a single forum, is bringing together the three inter-linked sectors of tourism, culture and the creative industries to highlight their fundamental importance as effective tools for inclusive development and drivers of sustainable growth. For Nigeria, the conference, which has drawn participants from many member states of UNWTO, industry players, international organisations, the academia and the media, among others, presents an ideal opportunity to showcase our rich, diverse and unparalleled tourism and creative assets, to do some networking, learn new things and share knowledge.
  5. One of the key goals of this conference is to bring to the fore sustainable solutions and innovative policies for the development and enhancement of the symbiotic potentials of tourism, culture and the creative industry. I am really excited about this conference and its deliverables in highlighting and promoting these inter-linked sectors that are sustainable and inclusive. Today, more than ever, tourism and the creative industry, due to their economic viability, are in the global spotlight and have their place at the forefront of national and international development agenda. The creative arts is estimated to generate annual revenue of over 2 trillion US dollars and accounts for over 50 million jobs worldwide. According to a recent IMF report, the entertainment and creative industry in Nigeria, which in the last decade have experienced massive growth and international recognition, account for 1.45% of Nigeria’s GDP. In 2021, the number of annual film production stood at 2,500 with a projection of 22 million US Dollars.

The revenue from music is estimated at 73 million US Dollars (with annual growth rate of 13.4%). In a similar vein, fashion contributes over 6.1% to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), averaging between 2% and 7% of national GDP around the world. These sectors contribute to the growth, resilience and recovery of the economy of societies and well-being of individuals.

  1. Prior to Covid-19, travel and tourism had become one of the most important sectors in the world economy, accounting for 10 per cent GDP and more than 320 million jobs worldwide. However, the global pandemic led to the loss of millions of jobs, as it affected micro, small and medium sized enterprises. The good news is that the recovery of the travel and tourism sector is well underway. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism got back to 60% of pre-pandemic levels between January and July 2022. It said international tourist arrivals almost tripled from January to July 2022 (+172%), compared to the same period of 2021. This means the sector recovered almost 60% of pre-pandemic levels. The steady recovery reflects strong pent-up demand for international travel as well as the easing or lifting of travel restrictions to date (over 86 countries had no COVID-19 related restrictions as of 19 September 2022), the barometer showed.
  2. Your Excellencies, this meeting provides an excellent opportunity to discuss ways and means to promote intra-Africa travels and tourism, leveraging on our vast and unique resources and our number, for mutual benefit to all member states. It is my expectation that this meeting will also serve as a platform towards establishing stronger linkages and functional collaboration among member states in order to realize the potentials which the continent is endowed with.
  3. This conference will equally provide the stakeholders the opportunity to discuss linkages and opportunities between tourism, cultural and the creative industry, and engage in business-focused discussions, with a view to initiating private sector-led growth and development of tourism and the creative Industry. It is also a platform to dialogue and engage with key industry personnel on the business of the creative sector, while addressing key issues affecting the sectors such as investment, capacity-building gaps, product development, marketing and digitalization; Intellectual property rights, piracy, education, poverty, power supply, security, access to finance, distribution infrastructure, technical competence, film content, multiple taxation and multi-level regulation, among others.
  4. On our part, we have long identified the creative industry, tourism and culture as sectors critical to the diversification of our nation’s economy away from oil. We regard the creative industry as the new oil. But now, when added to tourism and culture, we see these three sectors as not just the new oil, but also the new gold! This realization explains why we have paid much attention to the sectors. We have given much visibility to our cultural sector, and one of the fallouts of this is our successful campaign to repatriate our much-coveted artefacts, which were looted and taken to different parts of the world. Hundreds of these timeless works of art are currently being repatriated to Nigeria, in a reflection of our successful campaign. We have brought our creative industry to the front burner of our economy, highlighting the contributions of music, film, fashion, gastronomy, etc to the national economy. Of course, culture and creative industry are drivers of tourism. We have been resourceful in driving our Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting, knowing how critical this is to the creative industry. And we have breathed life into the hub of our arts and entertainment, the National Theatre, which is getting its first makeover in over 40 years, thanks to a collaboration between the Federal Government and the private sector, specifically the Bankers’ Committee, which has injected $100 million into the renovation efforts. The outcome is what you see today – an iconic edifice reclaiming its lost glory. And this is just the first phase. When completed, there will be four new hubs for music, film, fashion and IT – and a new dawn for cultural tourism, arts and entertainment.
  5. Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as the significance of the creative economy continues to grow, important synergy with tourism is emerging, offering considerable potential to grow demand and develop new products, experiences and markets. These new links are driving a shift from conventional models of cultural tourism to new models of creative tourism based on intangible culture and contemporary creativity. There are clear and strong intersections between the sectors. The creative innovation fuels new models of cultural consumption, and explores the wide range of technical and allied industries that scaffold the tourism and creative industries.
  6. Learning from the pandemic, I think we can and should seize the long-term opportunities offered by the creative economy, which is very often underestimated in terms of impact on sustainable growth, impact on jobs and impact on the development of societies. A very important dimension of tourism and the creative economy is that they are sectors that employ more young people than any other field, and this is why we believe that tourism and the creative industry are at the heart of pandemic recovery plans, and why the UNWTO is committed to placing the sectors high on international agenda.
  7. With our safe travel and safe event protocols, we are determined, as a country, to strengthen our position as a key business hub in the region. We welcome local and global guests to meet and connect in Nigeria, while enjoying a seamless and safe end-to-end experience.
  8. Finally, we need a better understanding of the economic impact of these inter-linked sectors, as well as of the impact on GDP and on jobs, because very often people do not realize that these sectors can be more important than many heavy industries, and they would never guess that those jobs were created by the cultural sector. So, we need to put the numbers on the table, with a view to having an international roadmap to better support tourism and the creative industry, and national strategies for the countries that are engaged in this area.
  9. On this note, I welcome you all once again, and I thank you for your kind attention.
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