Ekiti Tourism & Hospitality News

By: Johnson Folarin

As part of the vision to promote tourism businesses and activities in the State, the Ekiti State Tourism Department has endorsed the 4th edition of annual Mountain Hiking Programme tagged 𝐇𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐄𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐢 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝟒.𝟎 organised by 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 è𝐤ì𝐭ì, a destination marketing organization.

Receiving the organizers of the programme in his office, the Director of Tourism and Hospitality Mr Adebanji Adelusi hinged the endorsement of the programme on the earlier approval granted the organization by the Ministry to do the 4th edition. He said the programme keys into the vision of the Department.

The leader of the team, Mr. Michael Peculiar Ekiran said the programme was designed to project Ekiti State to the world as a destination of choice. Ekiran explained that mountain tourism is an aspect of tourism in which Ekiti State has greater advantage than most States in Nigeria just as nations have different areas of advantage from one another.

The Chattered Marketer said the 4th edition of the Ekiti Hike Mountain Safari is dedicated to unveiling the new face of Arinta and exploring the waterfall from its 1st layer to the 7th.

According to him, the programme has held 2 successful editions. He expressed regret that covid-19 did not allow the hosting of the event in 2020.

Ekiran explained that the 4th edition is slated for Easter Monday and that about 350 hikers among whom are 5 international participants would be taking part in the programme which is to run for about 8 hours starting from 7a.m to 2p.m.

Talking about the future of the Mountain Hiking Events in Ekiti State, Michael Peculiar, who is an Associate Member of the 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 (𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐍) and a member of the 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 (𝐀𝐓𝐏𝐍), explained that 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 è𝐤ì𝐭ì has a robust aspiration to attract nothing less than 1 million participants to Ekiti State within the next few editions. He said the organization would be extending marketing to other parts of Nigeria for participation as soon as the nation is able to tackle its security challenges. Security, he posited, has been a major inhibition to tourism all over the world. Since tourism is about perception, he said security problems have a way of creating negative perceptions that kill tourism products. Mr. Ekiran affirmed that Kenya which was notable for its wildlife tourism is yet to recover from the terror attack it suffered years back. He said Ekiti State has however been lucky to be one of the safest States in Nigeria and that the tourism corridor of the State has never been affected by any of the few sporadic instances of security breach which, of course, is inevitable in fast developing States like Ekiti State.

While responding to questions regarding the level of preparedness of the organization in terms of safety and security, the young tourism expert enumerated various steps that have been taken to ensure the programme would hold successfully. He said the organization was working with various groups for pre-event precautionary measures such as reccé, laying of climbing ropes to ease climbing in difficult or slippery gradients, combing of the sites to ensure wild animals do not lurk around. He listed the safety management groups to include the Man ‘o War, the Boys’ Scout, the Red Cross. These groups as well as the Ministry of Health and the Panacea 1st Aid Services would be available during the event according to him

To ensure security, the Nigerian Police, the Peace Corps, the Cadet Corps, he also said, would be present all through the programme.

Mr. Ekiran explained that sale of tickets has been extended to give room for more participants particularly those who desire to have the experience for the first time. He however urged participants to come with their Hiking Kits which include sporting clothes and other relevant materials for their convenience.

While thanking the organizations partnering with them towards a successful hosting of the event such as the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, the media, paramedic groups, security agencies, safety groups etc, Ekiran called on more corporate organizations and individuals to partner with 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 è𝐤ì𝐭ì to attract global tourism patronage to Ekiti State as a sure way to improve the economy of the State and empower the people. Ekiti State, he affirmed, is a land full of amazing tourists attractions which, if optimally explored, would open up the State as a safe and preferred destination for both leisure and business.

Mr. Ekiran expressed appreciation to Ekiti State Government for its commitment to tourism promotion and development. He however urged the State Government to sustain its commitment to the sector by opening up more potential tourism sites and sponsoring programmes and events that could drive tourism businesses to the State. Mr. Ekiran thanked the Honourable Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism for promising logistic support which he explained was critical to the success of the programme.