The Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) has marked the 2026 World Tourism Day with a multi-zone celebration across Nigeria, combining professional training, artificial intelligence (AI), destination promotion, tourism awareness and domestic travel activities.
The association’s 2026 celebration was designed to go beyond the traditional festivities, with members using the occasion to strengthen their capacity, explore emerging technologies and promote Nigerian destinations. Activities were held across the South-West, Federal Capital Territory and Northern Zone, as well as the South-South Zone.
In Lagos, nearly 200 tour operators converged on Ziba Beach Resort for a specialised training on Artificial Intelligence and its application in tourism and tour operations. The programme exposed participants to digital tools that can support business development, content creation, destination marketing and customer engagement.
The Lagos training was organised in line with the 2026 World Tourism Day theme, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism,” with NATOP using the occasion to encourage members to embrace technology as an important component of modern tourism business.
Speaking during the programme, NATOP President, Hajia Bolaji Mustapha, said the association deliberately combined learning with celebration to ensure that members gained practical knowledge that could improve their businesses. She explained that the training focused on how tour operators could use AI and digital platforms to promote tourism destinations more effectively.
According to Mustapha, the objective was to equip operators with the skills required to create stronger digital content and tell compelling stories about Nigerian destinations. She noted that AI could provide tour operators with additional tools for communicating, marketing and presenting tourism experiences to audiences in Nigeria and internationally.
She said the association wanted its members to remain relevant as the tourism industry increasingly moves into the digital space. Mustapha stressed that tour operators possess professional knowledge of destinations and tourism products and should therefore combine that expertise with digital tools to reach wider audiences.
“We are the ones that understand the business and we’ll be able to tell the story better, so that anybody coming to Nigeria will be able to discover Nigeria with the experts,” she said, urging tour operators to keep pace with the digital revolution and maximise opportunities presented by emerging technologies.
NATOP also used the Lagos celebration to promote Ziba Beach Resort as a Nigerian tourism destination. Mustapha explained that selecting the resort was intentional because the association traditionally links World Tourism Day activities with visits to tourism sites where members can learn about, experience and promote destinations.
She noted that the resort’s newly launched third phase provided an additional opportunity for tour operators to inspect its facilities and understand how the destination could be packaged for visitors. According to her, promoting attractions such as Ziba Beach Resort can help demonstrate the diversity of tourism experiences available within Nigeria.
Also speaking at the event, NATOP Vice President, South-West, and Chairman of the zone’s World Tourism Day Organising Committee, Mrs. Wonuola Olatunde-Lamidi, said the training was necessary because some operators still needed stronger foundations in tour business management.
Olatunde-Lamidi explained that understanding how to develop tour packages, market destinations and build sustainable tourism businesses was essential to the growth of the industry. Drawing from her 16 years of experience in the sector, she said professional training could help tour operators evolve from conventional travel agencies into more sophisticated destination management businesses.
She further emphasised the influence tour operators have on destination choices, noting that effective marketing can determine where tourists decide to travel. She encouraged operators to understand their responsibility in shaping perceptions of Nigerian destinations by communicating their attractions, benefits and experiences effectively.
Beyond Lagos, NATOP’s World Tourism Day activities extended to Abuja, where 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 also joined the nationwide celebration with a destination tour and other activities designed to commemorate the global tourism occasion.
The multi-zone programme brought together capacity building, technology, destination discovery and celebration, reflecting NATOP’s efforts to position its members for the changing demands of the tourism industry. In Lagos, participants also toured Ziba Beach Resort and used the opportunity to network, explore the facility and unwind, bringing the 2026 World Tourism Day celebration to a close on a combination of learning and destination experience.