No doubt, the recently organised Best of Lagos Fam-tour 22 was a big statement of facts and figures that the Lagos State Government has taken a new turn in promoting the best of the state’s tourism potentialities viz-a-viz liaising with the drivers of the industry and custodians to give meaning to tourism value chain and its dynamics.
The onsite familiarisation tour that was the first edition in the history of Lagos State, who also came to reality during the era of the present Lagos State commissioner of Tourism, Art and Culture, under the leadership of Uzamat Akinbile Yusuf not only brought hope to the state of aquatic splendor but also a strategic step to reinvent tourism promotion and marketing through the Public and Private Sector Partnership (PPP).
The three-day eventful outing was experience packed which is better enjoyed than imagined. It was a roundtrip experiencial packaged in collaboration with the private sector tourism body, the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), local government chairpersons, the Obas, tour operators, members of the state House of Assembly, the media and other key stakeholders including the emerging youth explorers who are the future of the industry.
One aspect of the educative tour which was applauded by Travelpulse and MICE was the inclusion of the assembly members, led by the Chairman House Committee on Culture and Tourism, Mr Fatai Oluwa; as it will not only bring them closer to the stakeholders alone but also help to widen their horizon on the nitty gritty, and significance of the value chain of tourism, sustainabilityand how it would sum up to being the employers of labour, capacity builder and wealth generation for the state.
The tour took all and sundry to five administrative divisions, namely Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos [Eko] and Epe; with visit to old and new developmental project completed and ongoing projects commissioned by the state govenrnment to give tourism a boost as well as private sector tourists centres and attraction for onward marketing to the world.
Speaking at the first port of call; the Afrikan Shrine, the Lagos State commissioner of Tourism, Art and Culture, Akinbile-Yusuf re-emphasised the readiness of the Lagos State government to take tourism development and marketing to an enviable level that will make them to achieve the full potentialities and gain of the tourism industry and its subsectors.
She said that Lagos has what it takes and ready to consolidate on past effort to practically change the face of tourism through public and private sector collaboration to attract the right tourist to the right place.
“We are ready to create an enabling environment to boost tourism in the state, but we cannot do it alone without the private sector who are the drivers of the industry and that is the move that brought about this familiarisation tour of the five divisions which house the richness and attraction of tourism that make Lagos thick.
“We are are here to have a first-hand assessment of our tourism attractions and to present them to the stakeholders who know the marketing dynamics and how to package the products to the world for both domestic and international tourists’ patronage.
After a short tour of the Afrikan Shrine, the commissioner, assembly members and other stakeholders were taken on an enlightment talk on making Lagos the entertainment capital of Africa Mr Edi Lawani, showbiz consultants, who said that it was not too late to get it right, advised the government that to grow the business environment, policies and directions for this dream must be deliberate and decentralised for ease of implementation.
“We must incubate the entertainment business at the grass roots level by creating incentives to help new and small businesses grow.
“We must take Local government-level engagement very serious because it would be helpful and mutually-beneficial for the sustaining the industry as well as re-engineering cultural activities for economic benefits.”
Lawani, who also spoke on the importance of data mining and management said that it was mandatory for business analytics and growth forecast.
“Government must have deliberate plan to encourage viable and reputable brands to trade investments in entertainment development initiatives for policy-backed incentives from government.”
He also sees awareness as mandatory in tourism growth because people need to know and have to put things in the right perpective to make them know.
“We must develop the knowledge economy necessary to position people for a rethink and change, to be able to take advantage of the opportunities.”
Making a stopover at one of the site, the team visited the Oshodi interchange bus terminals, Freedom Park, to Badagry on a boat ride where the delegation spent a night.
In Badagry after a befitting welcome, the delegation led by the Commissioner visited Vlekete Slave Market, Lagos National Theatre, Naija Tourism Radio, Heritage Museum, the Agia tree monument, the Badagry slave museum, the slave cell called the dungeon and other tourism assets, especially the slave trade assets, that the city is reverred for .
Speaking at Freedom Park in Lagos, Mrs Akinbile Yusuf, explained why Freedom Party is very important to the state government because of its rich history which cannot be forgotten in a hurry and what makes the park a special asset and a heritage being a former colonial prison where many of the country’s leaders were kept during the colonial era.
”We want to implore stakeholders to do much more to market all these sites. Lagos state government has invested hugely into all these sites.
“For the youths, I want you to come onboard and join this beautiful dream of promoting Lagos tourism potential, considering the beautiful coastal areas, beaches, historical sites, art galleries, museums, recreational parks and others.”
“We have our Masterplan to guide you and the community-based tourism development is ongoing, you have a whole lot of tourism sites to take visitors to. I believe this tour has improved your knowledge of the tourism potential in the state.”
“Exploring these potential and marketing methods will generate huge revenue for you and the state so it will be a win-win situation. We will continue to engage you in training, we take it seriously, at present we have trained over 200 tour guides to ensure tourists have the best.”
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