By Felix Khanoba
The Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, has thrown more light on the strategic role of standardization and quality assurance in the nation’s tourism industry.
Salim, who said standardization is very critical to the growth and development of the tourism sector, urged practitioners in the hospitality and tourism industry to participate in national and international standardization to develop hospitality products and services that meet with current taste and preferences of the stakeholders in the industry.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mrs. Foluso Bolaji,
Director, Public Relations of SON, and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
According to the statement, Salim made this known recently while presenting lead paper at the 16th International Conference of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN) in Abuja.
Delivering the paper titled ‘Quality Assurance: The Hallmark for Viable Hospitality and Tourism Enterprises,’ the SON boss identified tourism as one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the backbone of every country’s economy.
Represented by the Director, Management Systems Certification, Engr, Felix.T. Nyado, the SON DG explained that because tourism industry is products and service oriented, service quality is key to success and competitive advantage for the industry.
He informed participants at the event that SON has made available forty – four published International Standards for the tourism sector and that Nigeria is registered as a participating member of ISO/TC 228 (Tourism and Related Services).
Speaking further, Salim explained that SON engaged stakeholders in the sector on standards elaborations and called for more involvement from stakeholders in the sector.
He further enjoined stakeholders in the industry to comply with standards and quality assurance activities in order to meet with the expectations of their customers and deliver satisfactory values that will improve on their business profitability and enhance competitiveness.
He noted the challenges witness in the Tourism sector having pulled out from the effects of the Covid outbreak to poor infrastructures such as Epileptic power supply and high cost of diesel, Bad Road networks, Poor quality water and low exchange rates which makes the industry struggle to meet its expectations alongside its Counterparts across the globe.
The SON’s helmsman called on practitioners in the industry to use their credible social media platforms to collaborate with SON to further explore and promote Nigeria’s tourism potentials to the rest of the world and make the nation a top priority for tourists.
