The Low-Hanging Fruits is an initiative of the Rivers State Tourism Development Agency (RSTDA) under the watch of Mr. Yibo Koko as Director-General of the agency.

 

Primarily, the purpose of the initiative amongst others is to, first of all, justify the objective of the Director-General which is having a seamless collaboration aimed at mobilizing the creative community in the Rivers state toward having a buy-in into the tourism sector in the state and engender a renewed understanding of tourism and its development. The Low-Hanging Fruits initiative is a practical and theoretical approach geared toward mass participation of the citizenry in the development of tourism and its various facets; in terms of sights, sites, and sounds. So, citizens have an opportunity to make contributions through photography, videography, myth and legends, art and craft, etc, contest. This approach covers the broad spectrum of tourism assets which the agency in turn converts into bankable assets within the space of the Creative Economy. 

 

Ultimately, the efforts and contributors are incentivized through a contest format. The agency’s pilot scheme resulted in a collaboration with the Dubai Tourism for Commerce and Marketing (DTCM) in 2021 where three fine/graffiti artists emerged winners in the arts/craft competition and embarked on a week-long all-expense paid trip to Dubai. As a follow-up to that milestone, the artists are preparing for an art exhibition of their original works in December 2022 in the city of Port Harcourt.

 

The Low-Hanging Fruits initiative by RSTDA allows the citizenry to know the tourism assets that abound in their communities and the state, creating healthy competition amongst the creatives in the state whilst creating a platform for their creative expression.