Lagos to become major tourism destination in Africa

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L-R: Special Adviser, Tourism, Art & Culture, Mr. Solomon Saanu Bonu; Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Art & Culture, Pharm (Mrs.) Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf and her counterpart for Information & Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, during the Y2021 ministerial press briefing of the Ministry of Tourism, Art & Culture in commemoration of the second-year administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, May 17, 2021.

L-R: Special Adviser, Tourism, Art & Culture, Mr Solomon Saanu Bonu; Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Art & Culture, Pharm (Mrs.) Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf and her counterpart for Information & Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, during the Y2021 ministerial press briefing of the Ministry of Tourism, Art & Culture in commemoration of the second-year administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, May 17, 2021.

By Nimot Adetola Sulaimon

Lagos State Government on Monday reiterated its commitment to make Lagos the major tourism destination in Africa through a Tourism Master Plan.

This was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf at a ministerial briefing held at Alausa, Lagos.

She said the series of activities of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture under the present administration is deliberately structured towards positioning Lagos State as a major tourism destination in Africa.

The Commissioner disclosed that the Tourism Master Plan, a document to revolutionise the tourism sector in the State, would be presented next month.

“We have maintained a better relationship with our stakeholders, developing policies that would guide tourism activities and also implemented programmes and projects as they relate to the fulfilment of the fifth pillar of the THEMES agenda of the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which is Entertainment and Tourism.

“We have equally identified the business side of entertainment and tourism.

”Beyond using tourism and entertainment for fun, relaxation, social integration, entertainment and tourism remain a major source of income generation for different countries and cities of the world and we will also leverage this aspect to boost the State’s IGR (Internal Generated Revenue.)

“We believe in creating an enduring atmosphere for tourism activities to thrive, being a majorly private-sector driven sector.

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”It is our belief that when businesses operate under the right atmosphere, the economic activities of the State would increase and the resources at the disposal of government would also be impacted greatly.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner disclosed the discovery of new tourism sites in Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Alimosho areas of the State.

Akinbile-Yusuf assured movie practitioners, content owners and producers in the creative and entertainment industry of a modern and conducive atmosphere for producing their movies and creative contents.

She said that with the proposed Lagos Film City designed to be located at Ejirin in the Epe Local Government Area of the State, filmmakers are assured of a better filming experience in their movie productions.

Meanwhile, she affirmed that better days that will herald seamless movie production experience awaits content creators, moviemakers and producers in the State.

She also called on filmmakers, movie producers and content creators among other stakeholders in the creative sector to take advantage of the N1billion intervention funds approved for film production purposes.

Mr Solomon Bonu, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, said Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture held the Y2020 edition of the Annual Arts and Crafts Skills Acquisition Workshop where hundreds of beneficiaries in craft and artwork making were trained free.

He said the four-day event, tagged “Unlocking the Potential of the Innate Creativity for Sustainable Development”, was designed to equip participants for employability opportunities.

Also, that the government intends to empower over 2.5 million youths through Arts and Crafts, which is in addition to the provision of start-up credit facilities for them through the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.

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