Following the success of the recently-concluded NIHOTOUR Gastronomy Festival, which took place at the International Conference Centre in Abuja on June 16, 2023, the much-anticipated fifth edition of the “CMD Food Tour” will now take place on November 25 this year, according to the announcements made by CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises Limited and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR). Exhibitors from Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Malaysia, Senegal, and Trinidad & Tobago, among others, are anticipated to participate in the event that is scheduled to take place in Abuja.
Similarly, the tour organizers have also stated that they would be working closely with NIHOTOUR on this year’s event, which will be held with the theme “Around the World in a Day.” This year’s global foods and beverages exhibition and tourism promotion event, hosted by CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises Limited, will be exceptional in so many ways, the organizers promise. It added that there will be a food expo and workshops for inbound travel agents and local produce farmers, where attendees will learn about new business opportunities, build relationships with peers, and synergize with global tourism brands.
COVID gave rise to the inspiration for the CMD Food Tour.
While discussing the show’s history, Ms. Mambo Cecile, MD of CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises Limited, announced the company’s eagerness to work with NIHOTOUR on the show’s next edition. COVID was the inspiration for the CMD Food Tour. They aimed to provide stakeholders with a platform from which they could highlight the tourism attractions they had worked so hard to develop, with the ultimate goal of fostering cultural exchange, increasing feelings of acceptance and inclusion, and ultimately enhancing the quality of tourism products while protecting their historical and cultural integrity.
In 2021, they only undertook the West African Food Tour, but based on participant comments, they expanded to the Caribbean the following year (2022). Earlier in 2023, they undertook the CMD East Africa Food Tour and the fourth edition, a food adventure across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Silk Road. She expressed the company’s delight in a collaborative effort on the edition of the tour. Ms. Cecile continued by saying that seven nations had already confirmed that they would participate through their embassies in Nigeria: Burkina Faso, Cote D’ivoire, Ghana, Malaysia, Senegal, Trinidad & Tobago, and Morocco.
Partnership is sought to enhance the country growth.
Speaking further, Nura Kangiwa, who is the Director General of NIHOTOUR on his part making a remark on the effort and contribution towards the event, announced that the institute will be working with CMD Tourism & Trade Enterprises on the Food Tour. In addition to this, he reaffirmed the agency’s dedication to fostering the growth of Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism industries. According to Kangiwa, NIHOTOUR will continue to keep its doors open to potential business relationships in the industry.
They are able to collaborate with tourist event conveners and other stakeholders; in fact, this should be considered one of their responsibilities. This is not the first time that they will be working together to put on events revolving around food and travel sectors. The establishment of NIHOTOUR is aimed at enhancing the personnel know-how and other technical capacities necessary for the growth of Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism industries. He stated that they are interested in forming collaborations inside the industry.
Nigeria travel, tourism, and hospitality industries are also involved.
The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) is well-known for hosting its yearly NIHOTOUR Gastronomy Festival in Abuja and its ‘NaijaFoods’ exhibitions throughout Nigeria and West Africa. In order to educate, certify, and keep track of all of the professionals that work in Nigeria’s travel, tourism, and hospitality industries, it has been established as part of the recently founded Ministry of Tourism. Which operates out of ten campuses throughout the country and offers training and upskilling programmes at three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced.
Related Link
NIHOTOUR: Website
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