HARNESSING BAYELSA’S TOURISM POTENTIALS [2] Generally, the medium and long-term objective of tourism development under the Dickson Administration in Bayelsa State encompasses the following: To promote responsible and community-based tourism so that indigenes can enjoy increased socio-economic benefits and improved environment; To promote and ensure the respect and dignity of people in tourism, marketing and promotion of tourism; To promote Bayelsa State as an ideal choice for holiday-makers within and outside Nigeria; To foster the development of tourism products by providing marketing, training, financial and mentoring support; To place the State on a pathway for sustainable tourism development; To preserve and enhance local culture, art, handicraft, monuments and other natural and man-made tourism resources and protect them from over-commercialization and over-exploitation; To create public awareness and involvement in the gains of tourism; To minimize negative social, economic and environmental impacts of mass tourism, and To assist the building of a strong economy and provide more business opportunities through tourism. WHY TOURISM? All over the global community today, tourism has been identified and is being pursued as one of the few inexhaustible wells of wealth from which mankind can erect a strong buffer against economic vicissitudes and fill the shortfalls created by depleting natural resources. Countries such as Kenya, South Africa, France, United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, to mention few, top the global charts in this money-spinning industry, as they make billions of dollars from tourism yearly. As technology continues to compress the world into a miniaturized global family unit, tourism will remain a critical, non-depleting resource in the wealth equation of nations, as it is now and in the near and distant future. This submission is admissible, even from its face-value for reasons that are quite self-evident. Countries are now looking beyond oil in their quest for wealth creation and higher standards of living. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that tourism accounts for up to 10 percent of global gross domestic product, making it one of the worlds biggest industries. The good news is that a post-petroleum dominated economy is well within the realms of possibility, with the invention of solar-powered plants, dry-cell-powered automobiles, and even vehicles that run on water (as a 2007 Japanese laboratory test showed). Although, crude oil will still be a factor in the worlds economy in the next five or six decades at the very least, technology still has a lot in store for the human race and can spring its own surprises. The historical location of this new resource consciousness enveloping all countries is that the world didnt start with crude oil and technology can yet open up new windows of opportunities for wealth creation and economic survival. Mr. Dennis is a member of the Bayelsa Official Social Media Group
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 07:43:31 +0000
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