The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Art, and Culture is partnering with the federal government and private sector to boost tourism and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state.
Commissioner for Tourism, Art and Culture, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, stated this during a tour of some tourist sites in the state, including JK Randle, Freedom Park, National Museum, and Onikan House, among others.
According to her, the state is open to business development, as well as to promote tourism.
“Lagos is open to showcase its art and cultural heritage to investors,” she noted.
The commissioner also reiterated that the state is embedded with so much culture, saying ‘the time to show it is now. We will create that enabling environment for all businesses in Lagos to thrive’.
She added: “The government is also ready for youth development. We are ready for collaborations, and for our young people to thrive. If you look around us, you know that we have a demography of very young people who are waiting out there, seeking for us to hold up their hands, and we are ready for them now.”
“Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway, said partnering with Lagos State on tourism development will help to ‘make the national museum a tourist destination in a wider ecosystem for cultural tourism’.
Holloway, who said the National Museum is a great heritage to Nigerians, added: “The collaboration with Lagos can make the state a tourist hub. It is obvious that with this handshake, the days when we say this is state or this is federal will be gone.
“As far as visitors are concerned, they do not have any business with the state or Federal Government; they just want to come and immerse themselves in the people’s culture. With this union, I believe this will definitely happen.”
On how Lagos residents will benefit from the partnership on tourism development, Holloway said ‘the most important thing in this partnership is for us to begin to retell our stories.
The National Museum itself is a national monument. We have artefacts that date as far back as the 15th Century. These artefacts tell you not just the Lagos story, but the Nigerian story.”
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, noted that the partnership will boost the tourism sector. He added: “Art and culture space is one space, it doesn’t matter who you are speaking to. They have the same objective, the same history and we are producing the same outcome.
“The objective is to bring everyone in the room. It doesn’t work partnering with one person, it’s a story which must have a beginning, middle and end. The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism is orchestrating the partnership with other sectors to develop the sector; they are the ones that can call us to the table and we will think of how to do this properly.
“As we go along, we imagine ourselves being able to put funding behind those who are trying to grow tourism, invest in hospitality, hotel, transport that connects them, and in some cases, work with museums and monuments, and ensure we can preserve these things not just for our enjoyment, but also for future generations.
“We must remind ourselves that tourism is also a business. The way you grow tourism, the way you grow art and culture and the creative industry is to make sure that there are enough resources to invest. It is only when you have invested that you can raise a standard so that people from all over the world can see and be willing to come here.”
