The Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) has congratulated Lola Ade-John, the designated Minister of Tourism, urging her to devise ways to create a development fund for the growth of the industry.

Mrs Ime Udo, National President of NATOP, said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“We congratulate the new minister for tourism, with her background in Information Technology and being in the technological age, she must bring to bear her expertise in data collation and tourism technology.

“And as a former banker, we expect that she will be able to devise ways through which tourism development fund can  be created to advance the industry.

“One of the major inhibitors for tourism growth is the lack of funding and inability to attract investors.

“Tourism is first of all a business and should be approached as such,” she said.

Udo advised the minister to embark on physical tour of some of the heritage sites within the country in view of the deplorable state of most of the sites.

She said Ade-John would have to connect with the tourism board in each state to ascertain the current state of their activities to evaluate and plan on tourism development.

“The minister must be very intentional about making Nigeria a destination, she must immediately call for a roundtable stakeholders’ meeting to rub minds and know the true state of things in the industry.

Udo said the integration of a Minister of Tourism in Nigeria with an Information Technology background presents numerous intriguing possibilities for the country’s tourism sector.

She said the development and promotion of e-tourism platforms could provide a seamless experience for tourists.

According to her, such platforms can include online visa applications, digital city guides, and easy online booking for accommodations and attractions.

She said leveraging technologies such as  Internet of Things (IoT) could help develop “smart tourist destinations”.

“For instance, smart signage provides real-time information or smart bracelets for tourists that offer guided tours and ensure safety

“The minister’s expertise can drive the digital transformation of Nigeria’s tourism sector, from online ticketing systems to virtual tours of historical sites, the possibilities are vast.

“It is certain that she would understand the importance of data, which will lead to better-informed decisions based on tourism trends, visitor preferences, and feedback.

“Being in a technological age, historical sites and museums could be enhanced with Augumented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology, providing interactive experiences and bringing Nigeria’s rich history to life,” she said.

In a major boost to Saudi Arabia’s sustainability efforts, an ACWA Power-led consortium has secured financial closure for the Al-Shuaibah solar projects, with an investment of $2.37 billion, the company said in a press statement.

Touted to be the world’s largest solar project with a capacity of 2,061 megawatts, Al-Shuaibah 1 and Al-Shuaibah 2 projects, located in Jeddah are expected to be operational by 2025, it added.

Once completed, the solar project is expected to provide power to approximately 450,000 households, as stated in the press release.

ACWA Power CEO Marco Arcelli, said: “Securing financing for this groundbreaking project marks a significant step toward achieving Saudi Arabia’s clean energy goals, in alignment with the National Renewable Energy Program, which aims to generate 50 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.”

The consortium, in addition to ACWA Power, includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund unit Badeel and the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., also known as Saudi Aramco.

“We are truly proud of this milestone and look forward to working closely with our key partners PIF, Aramco, and other contributors to successfully realize a sustainable future,” added Arcelli.

In the press release, the company stated that the senior debt financing for this plant, amounting to $1.63 billion, comprises a $450 million Saudi riyal-denominated loan from the National Development Fund on behalf of the National Infrastructure Fund. Additionally, the financing includes a $1.18 billion US-dollar-denominated commercial facility provided by a consortium of local, regional, and international banks.

Saudi Power Procurement Co. is the procurer and off-taker for the projects. The new project will be jointly owned by Badeel, which will have a 34.99 percent stake, while ACWA Power and SAPCO will hold shares of 35.01 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Husam Al-Ghailani, CEO of Badeel, said the PIF unit will continue its efforts to support the renewable energy sector in the Kingdom, and to develop 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy by 2030.

The Riyadh Seasonal Date Fair, which started on Aug. 11, offers a wide range of date products and derivatives from different regions of the Kingdom.

With more than 50 farmers and exhibitors, consumers and investors have plenty of options to choose from.

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture; the Riyadh Municipality; the National Center for Palms and Dates; and agricultural associations, all collaborate to help achieve the fair’s goals.

The event lasts for two months at the Rawabi Market for vegetables and fruits. It aims to create an economic and agricultural gathering that boosts marketing of the region’s dates — which account for 24 percent of the Kingdom’s total production, some 400,000 tons.

To ensure quality and safety, participating farmers must have the Saudi dates logo and certificates for organic farming and quality.

Authorities and organizers are working to establish domestic and international marketing channels for the Kingdom’s 123,000 agricultural palm holdings. They also aim to expand the reach of the product to the investment sector in date-based processing industries.

The fair falls within the framework of the integrated development of date production in the Kingdom, which is known for its high quality, abundance, and diversity.

The total number of palms in the Kingdom has reached 34,554,602, representing 27 percent of the world’s palm trees.

The seasonal market supports and promotes agricultural products and farmers. It aims to strengthen the palm and date sector, valued at about SR7.5 billion ($2 billion), which accounts for 12 percent of the Kingdom’s total agricultural output.

Esiẹ Museum is a museum in Esiẹ, Kwara State, Nigeria.

In the sleepy Igbomina town of Esie, Irepodun LGA Kwara State lays the first museum in Nigeria.

The museum was established in 1945 to house one of the greatest treasures ever bequeathed to mankind, Esie Stone Images (Ere Esie).

The museum was the first to be established in Nigeria when it opened in 1945.

The museum once housed over one thousand tombstone figures or images representing human beings.

Esie museum established 1945 is located in Irepodun LGA of Kwara State.

The museum is known for housing human-shaped stone figures.

It is reputed to have the largest collection of soapstone images in the world.

In modern times the Esie museum has been the center of religious activities and hosts a festival in the month of April every year.

Record-setting wildfires in Canada’s western province of British Columbia are expected to push more people out of their homes this week, as firefighters battle unruly blazes that have destroyed properties and closed parts of a major national highway.

The province imposed an emergency late on Friday, giving officials more power to deal with fire risks. By Saturday, more than 35,000 residents were under an evacuation order and another 30,000 were under an evacuation alert.

The McDougall Creek fire is centered around Kelowna, a city some 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of Vancouver, with a population of about 150,000. But other blazes, exacerbated by severe drought, have been reported closer to the U.S. border and in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Ministers and government officials urged residents living in evacuation order zones to take immediate action, in the interest of their own lives and that of the firefighters.

British Columbia Premier Daniel Eby also imposed a ban on non-essential travel on Saturday, in order to free-up accommodation for evacuees and firefighters. Authorities urged people to avoid traveling to fire zones and operate drones to take pictures, which they said would hamper the work of firefighters.

Officials have not yet given any estimates of the total number of buildings destroyed.

Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of blazes and disruptions underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet.

About 30,000 households have been ordered to evacuate in Canada’s British Columbia province, where nearly 400 wildfires are raging.

Officials have restricted travel to Kelowna, a waterside city of 132,000 people, where smoke from nearby fires hangs over Lake Okanagan.

The order is designed to ensure enough accommodation for evacuees and emergency workers.

Fires have destroyed homes in nearby West Kelowna, a city of 36,000 people.

The travel restrictions also apply to the towns of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon and Osoyoos.

Hundreds of miles north, a huge fire continues to edge towards the city of Yellowknife.

An official deadline to evacuate the city – the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories – lapsed on Friday. A local official said later that day that nearly all residents had left, either by car or plane.

About 19,000 of the city’s 20,000 inhabitants had evacuated. Authorities said 39 patients were moved out of a hospital to alternative facilities on Friday evening, making them the last people to be evacuated from the city.

Environment and communities minister Shane Thompson said some people had chosen “to shelter in place”, but urged locals to leave.

In British Columbia, evacuation orders grew from covering 15,000 homes on Friday to at least 30,000 by Saturday evening. Another 36,000 homes are under evacuation alert.

The province’s emergency management minister said officials “cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders”.

Bowinn Ma added: “They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave.”

Premier of the province, David Eby, put the total number of people ordered to leave at 35,000, with 30,000 told to be prepared to evacuate.

Canada is having its worst wildfire season on record, with at least 1,000 fires burning across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

Experts say climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.

Extreme and long-lasting heat draws more and more moisture out of the ground – which can provide fuel for fires that can spread at an incredible speed, particularly if winds are strong.

Although no deaths have been reported in the latest fires, at least four firefighters have lost their lives during this record-breaking season.

Rail journeys across the Swiss Alps will take longer for the next few months after a major derailment has left the record-breaking 35-mile (57-kilometer) Gotthard Base Tunnel partially out of action.

The world’s longest tunnel was closed last week when a freight train jumped the tracks, derailing 16 carriages and damaging about five miles of rail lines, Swiss national rail operator SBB said in a statement.

SBB said the tunnel will reopen partially on August 23, with one of the two lines through the mountains unaffected by the incident. But the reduced capacity will mean re-routing passenger trains via a scenic railway that takes up to two hours longer until early 2024.

“Until further notice, passenger trains will be diverted via the panorama route,” the SBB statement said. “The journey time is extended by 60 minutes in national traffic and between 60 and 120 minutes in international traffic.”

The company said it was examining whether passengers could be safely transported with only one track in operation but for the time being it would be closed to non-freight traffic until further notice.

Opened in 2016 after 17 years of construction, the Gotthard Base Tunnel has become a vital railway link between northern and southern Europe, as well as a destination for rail enthusiasts wanting to traverse the world’s longest and – at almost 1.5 miles below the surface – deepest tunnel.

The structure runs between Erstfeld on the northern side and Bodio in the south, connecting rail traffic between the Swiss city of Zurich and Milan in Italy. It also completes a freight rail corridor between Rotterdam in the Netherlands and the Mediterranean Italian port of Genoa.

SBB said that passenger services will be running at reduced capacity until the tunnel fully reopens because the panoramic route over the mountains cannot handle double-decker trains. Additional trains would also not be running at peak times.

The incredible tunnels pushing deep below the surface

Swiss rail investigators are currently trying to establish the cause of the accident in which no one was injured.

He said the company was aware that the accident would lead to inconvenience for travelers and freight customers.

“We would like to apologize for this and ask for your understanding. The teams deployed are doing everything they can to ensure that safe rail traffic through the Gotthard Base tunnel is possible again as quickly as possible.”