The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf has charged the entire workforce of the Ministry to ensure that all visitors and tourists to the State experience the best of Lagos tourism, entertainment, arts and culture.
The Commissioner gave the charge during the staff retreat with the theme “Strategic Re-branding of MTAC for Enhanced Service Delivery”, held at Best Western Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, stressing that a good and memorable experience would automatically make tourists become advocates of the hospitality that abounds in the State.
She stated that the overall goal of the retreat was to harness the great potentials and opportunities in the State’s tourism sector, adding that the retreat has also exposed participants to the need for a documented structure that will ensure accountability, continuity and sustainability.
The Commissioner maintained that the Ministry will henceforth be intentional and deliberate in its sponsorship drive, such that only credible organisations that align with the vision of the Ministry would receive government sponsorship.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Solomon Bonu, said the retreat was convened to equip all the staff of the Ministry with the requisite knowledge for better relationships with numerous stakeholders and more effective service delivery.
According to him, the retreat will further expand the knowledge of the staff about the contents of the Tourism Masterplan and Policy of the Ministry.
One of the programme facilitators and a former Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Adewale Jamiu Ashimi, while delivering a paper titled “Strategy For Implementation of Tourism Policy and Master Plan”, stressed the need to promote tourism by creating an enabling environment to attract investments and tourists, just as he advised that intellectual property must be protected and creativity encouraged.
He noted that all relevant MDAs and private sector stakeholders must be carried along in order to establish strong governance for a viable and sustainable implementation of the entertainment and tourism pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda of the current administration.
Urging the Ministry to identify tourism attraction clusters for immediate or short-term implementation, Ashimi suggested the organisation of a tourism summit for all Public and Private Sectorsparticipants in order to come up with implementable agenda, specific roles and targets for all stakeholders.
