Oyo’s commitment to tourism devt paying off —Commissioner

•Hospitality investments grew from 1,328 in 2019 to 12,128 in 2024

Oyo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun, has said that the commitment of Governor ’Seyi Makinde to developing the tourism sector and ensuring that it forms a key component of his economic expansion agenda has yielded many positive results in the last two years.

He pointed out that with the government putting in place key tourism enablers such as road infrastructure, security and the political will as well as the creation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2023, the state has witnessed tremendous turnaround in the tourism sector.

He added that the turnaround has also led to increased tourists inflow as well as a massive boost in the hospitality sector, noting that while the state had a record of 1,328 hospitality businesses as of May 29, 2019, the number of investments in hospitality businesses increased to 12,128 by December 2024.

Olatubosun, who stated this during the Omituntun 2.0 Inter-Ministerial Briefing held at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, noted that the last two years of Governor Makinde’s second term of office has also seen Oyo State recording an influx of tourists.

The Culture and Tourism Commissioner also pointed out how the conducive environment created by the state government has also succeeded in attracting private investors in the culture and tourism sector, including the Kunle Afolayan Film Village in Komu, Oyo State and the AFRICHATTA Film Village in Oyo, calling on other investors to come into the state.

According to him, about 18,459 visitors come into Oyo State daily as against 1,604 recorded before the advent of the administration in 2019.

He noted that the number of hospitality businesses including hotels (945), night clubs (78), event centres (143), eateries and restaurants (66) and tour agencies (96) increased by 10,800 as of December 2024, saying these were because of the governor’s decision to put in place key success indicators.

He lauded the efforts of Governor Makinde in promoting culture, tourism and preserving the Yoruba traditional heritages in Oyo State, noting that recognition and enlistment of the World Sango Festival as an intangible cultural heritage site by UNESCO was a laudable achievement of the government and a testament to its success in tourism development.

He said: “With the help of the governor, who has put in place a conducive environment for tourism to thrive, we have achieved many things in the tourism sector in the last two years of Omituntun 2.0. I always tell people that for tourism to thrive, you need four things and the governor has done all these four things.

“The first one is security. People will not go to an environment that is not secure; neither will they come to invest in such an environment. Governor Makinde has succeeded in putting in place a security architecture that helped in securing the state under Omituntun 1.0 and he has built on that under Omituntun 2.0.

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“The second is that for tourism to thrive, there must be infrastructure development; road infrastructure, aviation infrastructure and all that. Before this administration came in, we had seven isolated zones and the roads linking them were in terrible conditions. If you wanted to go from one zone to another, it would take you long hours. Today, the governor has succeeded in connecting all the zones of the state with quality road networks.

“The governor knew that to have a modern Oyo State, there was the need to interconnect all the zones. This interconnectivity and security have helped to bring people into Oyo State.

“Another important factor is political will. The governor has demonstrated that to drive tourism, you need political will. So, the governor created the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and he put together people who can deliver on the mandate.

“Today, we have achieved a massive increment in the number of visitors and tourists coming to Oyo State. This happened because of our efforts as a government.

“The second success story is that there is a boom in the hospitality business in the state. There is no way one can measure the success if it does not have a bearing on investments coming into the state. Before we came in, the number of hospitality businesses including hotels, night clubs, event centres, eateries and restaurants and tour agencies was 1,328.

“Prior to May 29, 2019, there were 945 hotels, 78 night clubs, 143 event centres, 66 eateries and restaurants and 66 tour agencies. By December 2024, because of the efforts of the governor in putting these key success indicators in place, the number of investments in hospitality businesses had increased to 12,128. That is an increment of 10,800.

“Another success is that before we came in, Oyo State didn’t have any cultural festival recognised internationally. But because of Governor Makinde’s commitment to making culture and tourism thrive, having recognised that culture drives tourism, we have succeeded in having the World Sango Festival enlisted by UNESCO as a cultural heritage. It used to be known as Sango Oyo Festival.

“The fourth one is the first International Tourism Summit that took place last year. It recorded a huge success and the governor is building on that success by also putting in place a very powerful committee in conjunction with our consultant, which has slated July 22-24, 2025 for the summit.”

The Commissioner also mentioned the preservation of Yoruba heritage as a major achievement of the government, noting that the approval of August 20th as Isese Day for the adherents of African Traditional Religion in fulfillment of Governor Makinde’s campaign promise as well as the promotion and support given to the World Sango Festival, the Isese Festival, the World Egungun Festival, the Igbo Ora Twins Festival, the Aso-Oke Festival, Iseyin and the Yemoja Festival all show the administration’s commitment.

He added that the resuscitation of the Oyo State Performing Troupe, which has become one of the best performing troupes in the entire Southern Nigeria, is also an evidence of the administration’s success in the tourism sector.

“As a state, we are also supporting private investors, like the case of Kunle Afolayan Film Village, which was recently commissioned by the governor himself, who also promised to put a mini-grid in the environment and to see how the project can work with the upgraded Ladoke Akintola Airport for those who would be coming to Oyo State and want to go to the Film Village. That is also a success for Oyo State.

“Also, the AFRICHATTA Film Village in Oyo is world class, though still under construction. People are trooping to our state to see that lovely place. It is a good place the governor would commission when the project is completed.

“We equally have a lake at Eleyele. If you get there, we can say we have a beach in Ibadan now. All of these have helped us to increase revenue for the state. You know that the increase in investments will automatically bring more revenue for the state,” he said.

Highlighting some of the future plans of his Ministry, Olatubosun said the Ministry is planning to embark on the rehabilitation of selected tourist sites and the historic monuments through the public-private partnership arrangement in conjunction with the Oyo State Investment and Public-Private Partnership Agency (OYSIPA) and the Ministry of Finance.

He equally noted that the state is also planning to host the Omituntun Cultural Festival in Ibadan in December 2025, which would become an annual event to cater for local and foreign tourists during the Yuletide season, among other developments.

The Commissioner attended the session with the Coordinating Director of the Ministry, Mrs Adejoke Agboola and other Directors.