The Senior Special Assistant on Tourism to the Bayelsa State Governor, Piriye Kiyaramo, wants to collaborate with the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) to promote literary tourism in the state.
Kiyaramo said this at the unveiling of two books, ‘The Child of the Creek’ and ‘Oruru & Ikpakpa’, written by Joel Solomon Tekenate in Yenagoa on Easter Monday.
He noted that though Bayelsa State has many literary icons, they have not received due recognition.
He said literary tourism has continued to offer big brand and marketing benefits to destinations across the globe, adding that literary tourism opportunities exist alongside literary festivals and bookshops.
Kiyaramo reiterated that the time is ripe for authors from the state to promote places mentioned in their literary works as tourist sites, assuring that his office was willing to collaborate with ANA to promote literary tourism potential.
He further explained that visiting a writer’s home, gravesite, including routes taken by fictional characters, places mentioned in poems, and museums dedicated to specific writers, works, regional pieces of literature, and literary genres are all part of literary tourism.
Technical Adviser to the Governor on Education, Dr Isaiah Oyenkorikiye, promised to encourage the author to excel. At the same time, the state ANA chairman, Chief Adolphus Munamuna, described writers as the vision bearers of nations.
The book reviewer and chairman of the South-South Writers Union, Mr Amaitari Mozimo, appealed to Kiyaramo to consider literary tourism in his tourism development plan.
He commended the author for his detailed scholarly work, adding that the two books were inspiring and will be helpful in primary and secondary schools.