Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has expressed its readiness to partner with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) towards developing the State’s tourism sector.
Addressing officials of LCCI recently when they paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry at the Secretariat, Alausa, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Oyinade Nathan-Marsh stated that the partnership proposal by LCCI is a welcome development and a collaboration that will further assist the Ministry in the achievement of its mandates.
Describing the plan as a new oil needed for the overall growth of the tourism sector, Nathan-Marsh expressed the hope that the proposed partnership of LCCI with the Ministry will increase networking and engender mutual interest.
The Permanent Secretary also thanked the LCCI team for visiting the Ministry, saying that the State Government will continue to promote the tourism industry as private-sector driven such that the government will only be involved in the area of providing an enabling environment for the growth and development of the tourism sector.
Responding to some of the issues raised by the LCCI team regarding tourism development, she informed the visitors that the State Government is consolidating and improving the Security architecture of the State to ensure that all its tourism sites are well-secured for both local and international tourists.
“For us in Lagos State, we’re more concerned with enabling the tourism sector. Take for instance, we are enhancing our security architecture so that people can feel safe and secure when they visit tourism, hospitality and entertainment centres in all parts of the State”, Nathan-Marsh stated.
The LCCI Chairman of the Hotel, Hospitality & Tourism Group, Lady Sally Ukpo congratulated the leadership of the Ministry for the giant strides made in the implementation of different infrastructural projects that are gradually transforming Lagos State into a Tourism hub.
Ukpo stated that LCCI wants a synergy between the Hotel, Hospitality and Tourism group of the Industry and the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in the area of publicity and promotional activities that would give leverage to both LCCI and the State Government.
Speaking further, the Chairman added that the collaboration with the Ministry will provide a direction for would-be investors willing to invest in the tourism value chain, like beaches, entertainment and transportation among others.
“We are thinking of ways Lagos State can benefit economically from Tourism because for the rest of the world, Tourism is one of the highest earners worldwide and there are some countries that totally depend on tourism as their major source of income”, she added.
