Lagos State Government has said that it will make the state a major tourism destination in Africa.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, while presenting the account of stewardship of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in the last two years at a ministerial briefing held at Alausa, Lagos.
The Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, in a statement on Twitter, quoted the commissioner as saying, “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, where the private sector can confidently invest their resources to advance the state’s tourism and entertainment sector.”
She said the tourism master plan, a document to revolutionise the tourism sector in the state, would be presented next month, and that the document would change the narrative in the state’s tourism sector and ensure uniformity of government programmes, plans and policies in the development of tourism.
She said, “We have maintained a better relationship with our stakeholders, developed 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 as a vehicle for fun, relaxation and 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.
“We believe in creating an enduring atmosphere for tourism activities to thrive, being a majorly private-sector driven sector. 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.”
The commissioner also disclosed the discovery of new tourism sites in Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Alimosho areas of the state.
She said the new tourism sites would be developed and harnessed to international standards to attract international tourists to further boost tourism in Lagos State.
She added that with the proposed Lagos Film City designed to be located at Ejirin in Epe Local Government Area of the State, filmmakers could hope for a better filming experience in their movie productions.
The commissioner urged practitioners in the film and movie industry to leverage on the Film City initiative to carve a solid niche for themselves and take possible advantage of the proposed facility to improve their content and production by the time it becomes a reality.
