NAN-H-42
Food
By Taiye Baiyerohi
Lagos, Feb.17, 2017 (NAN) Mr Louis Eriomala, Director, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Lagos, has called on the Federal Government to develop food tourism, to improve on the other aspects of the sector.
Eriomala made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
He said that there was need to promote food tourism, saying that the country had good number of unique cuisines to display and market.
He said that to do this, the Nigerian hotels must be sensitised to ensure that Nigerian cuisines were made available to both foreign and local tourists.
“I observed, during my stay in Turkey, that every tourist was made to eat the Turkish local food, because you wouldn’t find any other food which is not theirs; this is called acculturation.
“This might not be done here, but let us ensure that we do not only have continental dishes but also African cuisines in our hotels.
“There is need for our hotels and restaurants to serve more Nigerian cuisines on their menu, to promote our cuisines.
“A policy statement for our cuisine to be served at state functions will go a long way to promoting our food,” he said.
Eriomala said that with the richness of the nation’s cuisine, the government could organise yearly food festival, where each ethnic group showcases its cuisine.
The NICO official said that the promotion of local cuisines would boost inbound and outbound tourism, hence, increase the nation’s internally generated revenue. (NAN)
PTB/FLP/AFA
Edited by Folorunso Poroye/Felix Ajide