In a landmark move for the nation’s tourism and creative sectors, the Miss Tourism Nigeria Organization and the government-backed Visit Nigeria Initiative (VNI) have announced a strategic partnership for the 2026 national pageant.
The collaboration, formalised by a Memorandum of Understanding on December 22, 2025, aims to fuse cultural celebration with strategic national marketing. This 14th edition of the pageant is poised to become a premier platform for promoting Nigeria’s diverse heritage across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“This partnership marks a major step toward strengthening tourism storytelling, grassroots engagement, and national visibility,” stated Collete Nwadike, Chief Executive Officer of Miss Tourism Nigeria. The shared goal is to utilise tourism as a dynamic tool for unity, peacebuilding, and national development.
This union represents a significant transformation for both organisations. For Miss Tourism Nigeria, the partnership elevates the pageant from a traditional competition to a purposeful national movement integrated into a larger economic and branding strategy.
For the Visit Nigeria Initiative, the pageant provides a powerful, human-centric channel to execute its mission, using the queens as authentic ambassadors to “showcase the true story of Nigeria” to a global audience.
The impact extends directly to the 2026 contestants, who are now called to be more than beauty queens. Entries are officially open for young women ready to become state representatives and integral parts of a “movement driven by purpose.” The focus will expand to emphasise substance, skill-building, and tangible social impact, aligning with VNI’s goals of creating opportunity and telling a new national story.
Collectively, this partnership sets a new benchmark for how national institutions can collaborate to promote heritage, empower youth, and project a unified, forward-looking image of Nigeria to the world.
