The Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, has called on the practitioners in the hospitality and tourism industry to endeavor to participate in national and international standardization so as to develop hospitality products and services that meet with current taste and preferences of the stakeholders in the industry. This is contained in a statement signed by the Director of public Relations, Foluso Bolaji.
The statement reels out that, Mallam Salim made this known while presenting the lead paper at the 16th International Conference of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN) in Abuja. He says Standardization and Quality Assurance is very critical to the growth and development of the Nigerian tourism industry, therefore delivering a paper titled “Quality Assurance: The Hallmark for Viable Hospitality and Tourism Enterprises”.
The Director General and Chief Executive, identified tourism as one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the backbone of every country’s economy. The SON DG, who was represented by the Director, Management Systems Certification, Engr, Felix .T. Nyado, explained that “because the tourism industry is products and service oriented, service quality is key to success and competitive advantage for the industry.” He says, SON has made available forty – four published International Standards for the tourism sector and that Nigeria is registered as a participating member of ISO/TC 228 (Tourism and Related Services).
Adding that SON engages stakeholders in the sector on standards elaborations and called for more involvement from stakeholders in the sector. He further enjoined stakeholders in the industry to comply with standards and quality assurance activities in order to meet with the expectations of their customers and deliver satisfactory values that will improve on their business profitability and enhance competitiveness.
