By Oyo Lens
IBADAN — The Polytechnic, Ibadan has taken a bold leap toward redefining tourism and hospitality education in Nigeria with the unveiling of its PolyIbadan Tourism Village, an innovative experiential learning facility designed to turn students from mere classroom learners into industry-ready professionals.
In a development described as a significant milestone in practical skills acquisition, the institution’s Department of Tourism Management Technology (TMT) has created what is effectively a living laboratory for tourism, hospitality, cultural heritage and recreation, bringing real-world industry operations directly into the academic environment.
The initiative marks a decisive departure from the conventional model in which students learn predominantly through lectures and textbooks. At the Tourism Village, students are expected to learn, practise, manage and experience the various components of the tourism and hospitality industry in a setting designed to replicate actual professional operations.
The facility boasts a Front Office and Guest Services Unit, Travels and Tours Operations, Museum and Gallery, Production Kitchen, Restaurant and Bar, Accommodation, Lounge and Rooms, Garden and Outdoor Recreation facilities, among others.
But the vision goes far beyond what currently exists.
The Polytechnic says the Tourism Village is an evolving destination, with plans to introduce a Games Arcade, Outdoor Gazebos, Swimming Pool, Mini Zoo and other visitor-oriented recreational facilities, potentially transforming the facility into a major tourism, leisure and experiential learning destination.
At the unveiling, Chairman of the institution’s Governing Council, Prof. Lanre Nasar, commended the Department of Tourism Management Technology for its vision, initiative and determination, particularly the speed with which the facility has been developed since the establishment of the department.
The Rector, Assoc. Prof. Taiwo Lasisi, also praised the department for demonstrating the kind of innovation capable of strengthening the institution’s identity and projecting The Polytechnic, Ibadan beyond its immediate academic environment.
Lasisi gave special recognition to Dr. Kola Lawal, pioneer and founder of the Department of Tourism Management Technology, for his passion, dedication and commitment to building a department capable of making meaningful contributions to the institution and Nigeria’s tourism sector.
The Rector further applauded the students of the department for their neatness, discipline and exemplary conduct, describing Tourism Management Technology students as among the neatest and best-behaved students in the institution.
For The Polytechnic, Ibadan, however, the significance of the Tourism Village goes beyond buildings and facilities.
It represents a strategic investment in a generation of graduates expected to possess practical competence, entrepreneurial capacity and industry experience before leaving the institution.
Students will have opportunities to gain firsthand exposure to guest relations, accommodation management, food and beverage operations, travel and tour management, cultural heritage preservation, recreation and other critical aspects of the tourism value chain.
And that could be the project’s biggest advantage.
At a time when employers increasingly demand graduates who can do, not merely describe, PolyIbadan is putting its tourism students in an environment where classroom knowledge can be tested against practical realities.
The institution’s decision to continually expand the facility also signals an ambition to make the Tourism Village a long-term institutional asset—one capable of serving simultaneously as a training centre, tourism destination, cultural hub and entrepreneurship platform.
With its official commissioning scheduled for December 2026, the PolyIbadan Tourism Village is poised to become one of the institution’s most distinctive interventions in skills-based education.
For the Department of Tourism Management Technology, it is a bold statement of intent.
For the students, it is an opportunity to graduate with more than certificates.
And for The Polytechnic, Ibadan, it may well be the beginning of a new chapter in which tourism education is no longer taught only in the classroom—but lived, practised and perfected.
Oyo Lens — News With Insight.
