Bill
By Taiye Baiyerohi and Olaitan Idris
Lagos, May 23, 2018 (NAN) Tourism stakeholders on Wednesday gave divergent opinions on the proposed bill on the establishment of Tourism Promotion Agency during a stakeholders’ meeting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) organised the meeting.
Some of the stakeholders said that the bill would give room for employment creation and deep cultivation of the tourism industry.
Others said that it would amount to duplication of duties with the state ministry of tourism.
NAN reports that the bill when eventually passed into law will seek to establish the Tourism Promotion Agency for the state.
It would also be saddled with the responsibility of marketing and promoting Lagos as a major global tourism destination both within the country and outside it.
Mr Bankole Bernand, the President, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents, said that the agency would be performing the same function with the state Ministry of Tourism.
He, however, advised that rather than being an agency, the state should establish a corporate entity which would be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
He said the corporate organisation should comprise technocrats from the tourism value-chain.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Mr Steve Ayorinde, said that the proposed agency would be a blueprint to propel Lagos tourism master plan into action.
He said the agency would also aid the plans of the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism to make the state one of the five best tourism destinations in the world.
“The Ministry cannot do it alone, so we need an agency that will not be weighed down by bureaucracy of getting signage.
“ We need an agency that will be promotional and advisory to the ministry such that we can achieve our target of being one of the five best tourism destinations in the world.
“After all, the new oil and gas industry now is tourism,” he said.
Mr Aminu Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said that the proposed bill would contribute to the expansion of the business in the state.
He advised the state assembly to enact a law for the establishment of forex village within the state where local and foreign tourists could patronise them.
Earlier, Mr Desmond Elliot, Chairman, Ad-Hoc Committee on Tourism, Arts and Culture in LAHA, said the bill was channelled at moving the state to a mega-city.
He said that it should be one that would make it be capable of attracting, promoting large scale events, fairs and exhibitions.
Elliot said that the agency would ensure that every player in the industry remained stakeholders.
He appreciated every stakeholder present and said all complaints and suggestions would be considered during further deliberations by the house. (NAN)
PTB/ IOI/ FFP/PAD
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Edited by Francisca Oluyole/Peter Dada