The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law has announced plans to bring lawyers, investors, financiers, regulators and tourism operators together to examine how Nigeria can unlock investment in its travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
The NBA-SBL 2026 Tourism Retreat and Roundtable will hold from October 1 to 4 at the Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The programme is being organised by the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee of the NBA-SBL.
Its theme is “Unlocking Investment in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Sector: The Role of Data and Innovative Financing.”
NBA-SBL Chairman Baba Alokolaro said the sector represents an important area of economic opportunity as Nigeria seeks to diversify beyond traditional dependence on oil and gas.
According to him, Nigeria possesses numerous tourism destinations whose economic potential remains largely undeveloped.
Chairman of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee, Kemi Afesojaye, said attractive destinations alone would not create a sustainable tourism economy.
She identified reliable data, financing, capital and appropriate commercial structures as critical requirements for turning tourism assets into viable investment opportunities.
The legal profession has a particularly important role in that process.
Major tourism investments require land documentation, concessions, project financing, intellectual-property protection, tax planning, environmental compliance, employment arrangements, licensing and dispute-resolution frameworks.
The retreat will therefore examine not only tourism promotion but the regulatory and transactional structures needed to attract capital into the sector.
Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy Hannatu Musa Musawa is expected to participate, alongside business leaders, lawyers and sector specialists.
The programme is also expected to consider financing and deal structuring, infrastructure, data, law and regulation and the respective roles of government and private stakeholders.
By taking the discussion to Uyo, the NBA-SBL is also directing attention to the economic potential of tourism destinations outside Nigeria’s traditional commercial centres.
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SOURCE:
Punch Newspapers
