NATOP takes tour operators back to classroom, embraces AI
Maureen Aguta
The Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) has marked the 2026 World Tourism Day (WTD) with a multi-zone celebration focused on professional training, artificial intelligence (AI), destination marketing and domestic tourism.
In Lagos, nearly 200 tour operators gathered at Ziba Beach Resort for training on the application of AI in tour operations, aimed at equipping members with digital tools to grow their businesses and promote Nigerian destinations.
The training, organised in line with the 2026 WTD theme, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism,” was designed to help operators adapt to the rapid digital transformation of the industry.
Speaking at the event, NATOP President, Hajia Bolaji Mustapha, said the association deliberately combined the celebration with capacity building to give members practical skills they could apply to their businesses.
“We follow the theme and blend it with the current situation. Let’s do the training so that we attach it to World Tourism Day, with the theme, so that we have achieved something and also celebrate,” she said.
Mustapha said AI could help tour operators create stronger digital content and tell Nigerian destination stories more effectively.
She urged members to embrace digital technology, noting that content creators were increasingly influencing how destinations and tourism experiences were marketed.
“As tour operators who are willing to tell the good story of Nigeria, we need to bring ourselves up to speed and align with the digital revolution. Let everybody go digital,” she said.
“Content creators are taking our business, so we want to align with what they do. We are the ones who understand the business and will be able to tell the story better, so that anybody coming to Nigeria will be able to discover Nigeria with the experts.”
Mustapha said the choice of Ziba Beach Resort was also deliberate, as NATOP traditionally links its World Tourism Day activities to tourism destinations.
She said the programme gave members an opportunity to inspect the resort, which recently launched its third phase, and explore how it could be packaged and promoted to tourists.
“We want to showcase that the resort is actually in Nigeria, not Zanzibar. By using the place, we would kill two birds with one stone,” she said.
NATOP Vice President, South-West, and Chairman of the zone’s WTD Organising Committee, Mrs Wonuola Olatunde-Lamidi, said training was essential to strengthening the tourism industry.
According to her, some operators still lack adequate knowledge of the fundamentals of tour operations, particularly how to develop attractive tour packages.
“Many don’t understand the foundation of what it is to create a tour package. And when you have people that are not well-trained in an industry, the industry will not grow,” she said.
Olatunde-Lamidi, who has 16 years’ experience in the industry and runs Diamonds and Pearls Travels with her husband, said tour operators could influence travel decisions through effective destination marketing.
She said her company had grown from a travel agency into a Destination Management Company and a trusted brand by effectively promoting destinations.
“You may not realise that, as tour operators, you can actually decide where people go. You can make people go to a particular destination by marketing it and letting them know the benefits of that destination,” she said.
NATOP’s WTD celebration also extended to other parts of the country.
In Abuja, the FCT and Northern Zone, in collaboration with Naija Adventurers, organised a Tourism Awareness Walk and Hike to the Centre of Nigeria.
The South-South Zone marked the day with a destination tour and other activities aimed at promoting tourism attractions within the region.
The nationwide activities highlighted NATOP’s push for stronger professional capacity, digital adoption and destination marketing as tools for expanding Nigeria’s tourism industry.
Tighten the lengthy quotations
Clarify the AI training outcomes