The President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigerian (FTAN), Mr Tomi Akingbogun, on Friday called on the Federal Government to strengthen its collaboration with the private sector, to boost tourism.

Akingbogun made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

According to Akingbogun, the best way to boost tourism in the country is to ensure effective collaboration between the Federal Government and the organised private sector, like the FTAN.

"Our membership base has expanded to important associations like the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies, the Hotel Owners Forum, as well as the National Association of Tour Operators, among others.

"Our activities are on different media platforms and we have championed awareness creation for the various tourist sites in the hospitality industry in Nigeria.

"We also sponsored many advertisements on radio, to encourage government agencies to stop travelling abroad for trainings and meetings that can be done in the country.

"We seek to work with the ministry and its agencies, especially the National Orientation Agency, to ensure speedy growth of tourism in the country," he said.

Akingbogun said that FTAN had made a presentation to the ministry on the challenges impeding the growth of tourism in Nigeria, with suggestions for how these can be tackled.

"The ministry accepted all our suggestions and has commenced implementation," he added.

NAN reports that Akingbogun was recently elected president of the association for a second term of two years. (NAN)