Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, has said the state is seriously working towards water tourism to explore the vast potentials of the state.
The Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Solomon Bonus said the ministry is on the path to ensuring revival, development and completion of tourism sites, despite the effects of the pandemic. He assured that no stones will be left unturned in achieving this feat.
“The Ministry of Tourism is working on the promotion of water tourism and is on the verge of phasing off obsolete boats and replacing them with more modern facility standard boats. This will be done in conjunction with the Lagos State Ferry Services. LAGFERRY. We will be dredging the waterways further, so as to accomodate the kinds of boats we are looking at.
“With good channelisation of the waters and proper routing, you’ll discover that the entire Lagos can be accessed and viewed from the water or boat within hours, without having to step foot on land. This will save foreign tourists the stress of having to go through the situation on land.”
He said further: ”As much as we are reviving old monuments and sites with tourism potentials, to bring them up to scratch, we are also looking at partnering with those who are willing to partner with the government to start something new by harnessing the vast tourism potentials in our state.
All over the world, Public-Private-Partnership has been helping shape and move the tourism sector forward, and we don’t intend to be left out of is as well. Government’s responsibility is to create an enabling environment for such partnerships and investment to thrive, and we are ready to do just that.”
He advised stakeholders and individuals in the Tourism, Arts and Culture Industry to pay taxes to support the ministry, citing examples of several hotels which have failed to follow necessary requirements of the state in terms of registration. He said this will, in turn, give the ministry the ability to rate and classify the hotels into stars.
He also appealed to the Federal Government to look into the roads leading to Badagry, which are in a state of disrepair, as work had not yet fully been carried out, although the contract had been awarded. He encouraged investors to invest in Lagos State tourism sector, stating that Public-Private-Partnership, PPP, is the way forward for the state to develop tourism.
-Daily Times
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