By Augustine Aminu
Saturday, 25th November 2023 in Abuja, the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) in collaboration with CMD Tourism and Trade Enterprises hosted a culinary tourism food festival in Abuja at the Abuja Continental Hotel. Indigenous foods from Nigeria and fifteen other countries were showcased, and freely sampled by the public. Diplomatic community in Nigeria that showcased at the Food Tour includes Cameroun, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malaysia, Philippines, Burkina Faso, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Egypt, Botswana, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
The Director General of NIHOTOUR, represented by Dr. Taiwo Famogbiyele, welcomed participants at the CMD food festival and remarked that, “following the success of the 3rd NIHOTOUR Gastronomy Festival that held in June 2023 at the Abuja International Conference Centre, among others, NIHOTOUR is collaborating with CMD Tourism and Trade Enterprises to host the 5th edition of the CMD FoodTour to create new opportunities for Nigerian tourism destination, enhance our market presence, and expand Nigeria’s reach in the global gastronomy tourism industry.”
The DG, Nura Kangiwa, concluded that, “we see the partnership with CMD Tourism and Trade Enterprises as a consolidation of NIHOTOUR’s efforts in positioning Nigeria as a leading gastronomy tourism destination in Africa. More so, as a training institute saddled with capacity development of tourism personnel in the industry, our partnership with CMD Tourism, and indeed with other stakeholders in the industry, is aimed at improving the sector-specific knowledge and Nigeria’s capacity of hosting signature Food Festivals that depict our traditions, cultures, and diversity of our hospitality offerings.”
The theme for the 2023 Food Tour is “Around the World in a Day”. To this end, the Chief Executive Officer of CMD Tourism and Trade Enterprises, Ms. Cecile Doumbe, enthused that, “this 5th edition is a fulfilment of our commitment to Nigerian and international food tourism event hosted in Abuja Nigeria. Because for us, this Food Tour hinges on Nigerian tourism development discussions around. Fact is, CMD Food Tour is driven by Tourism Sustainability,
Responsibility and Inclusiveness for all. The CMD Food Tour avails Nigerians and foreigner’s resident in Nigeria the opportunity to engage and explore with other culinary cultures without physically traveling.”
When asked about the impact of the 5th CMD Food Tour, the Ambassador of Cote D’Ivoire, Ambassador Traiore revealed that the Embassy is partnering with NIHOTOUR and CMD for the promotion of African gastronomy, particularly the Ivorian gastronomy, here in Nigeria. But beyond food, our participation in this event is to strengthen ties of fraternity and to promote regional tourism development.
The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism is a parastatal of the Federal Government of Nigeria empowered to Train, Certify and Register all personnel in Nigeria’s travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors. The Institute has 12 campuses located in the Nigeria’s 6 geopolitical zones.