The President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Dr Aliyu Badaki, has called on the government and private sector stakeholders to prioritise recovery, sustainable growth, and strategic partnerships as key pillars for advancing Nigeria’s tourism industry in 2026.
Badaki made this call in his New Year message to stakeholders, where he described 2026 as a decisive period that demands alignment, execution, and shared responsibility across the tourism value chain. According to him, the new year presents fresh opportunities to reposition the sector and translate long-standing potential into measurable performance.
While welcoming stakeholders to the new year, the FTAN President extended warm greetings to practitioners, investors, and advocates within Nigeria’s tourism ecosystem. He noted that 2026 should not be seen as a mere continuation of past efforts, but as a moment to consolidate gains and pursue deliberate actions that will strengthen the industry.
Badaki expressed deep appreciation to tourism operators and stakeholders for their resilience throughout 2025, a year he acknowledged was commercially challenging for many businesses. He noted that despite economic pressures, regulatory hurdles, and structural constraints, industry players remained committed to sustaining the sector.
He also commended Nigerian tourism ambassadors at home and in the diaspora for consistently projecting the country’s culture, heritage, and hospitality on the global stage, describing them as vital to Nigeria’s tourism narrative.
Reflecting on the past year, Badaki said 2025 would be remembered as a period of groundwork and recalibration, during which trust was rebuilt and engagement strengthened between government ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, and the organised private sector. He added that renewed collaboration in the latter half of the year laid a solid foundation for a more coordinated tourism economy.
The FTAN President highlighted the Tourism Transformation Mandate (TTM) as a critical framework for the sector’s future, stressing that it is a call to action rather than a slogan. According to him, the mandate focuses on policy alignment, private sector repositioning, investment readiness, human capacity development, destination competitiveness, and measurable outcomes.
He stated that 2026 must be a year of recovery, consolidation, and growth, where policies translate into operational clarity, partnerships evolve into co-investment, and professionalism replaces informality. Badaki added that tourism must increasingly assert itself as a contributor to GDP diversification, job creation, and national branding.
While acknowledging ongoing challenges such as rising operating costs, infrastructure gaps, security perceptions, and skills shortages, Badaki said these issues also present an opportunity to reset systems, strengthen governance, and rebuild confidence. He reaffirmed FTAN’s commitment to advocacy, capacity building, and strategic collaboration, stressing the importance of regulation and standardisation in achieving sustainable tourism development.
