Mrs Josephine Anyameluhor, General Manager, Delta State Tourism Board (DSTB) at the National Tourism and Transport Summit and Expo in Abuja
Tourism
By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
Abuja, May 23, 2018 (NAN) Mrs Josephine Anyameluhor, General Manager, Delta State Tourism Board (DSTB) on Wednesday described the state tourism sector as an untapped goldmine for both local and foreign investors.
Anyameluhor stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
She described the tourism sector in the state as a potential lucrative investment destination.
“If you look at Delta, basically, it is a state that is crisscrossed by a number of rivers, creeks and lakes; and this has left us with a lot of sand bands and beaches.
“These are areas we have a comparative advantage in. So, what do we want to do with it?
“We have a lot to offer in terms of food, minerals. Delta State is sitting on clay; three local government areas are sitting on the purest of clay.
“We are looking for investors who will take advantage of these opportunities and develop international resorts, five-star hotels, amusement parks and other tourists centres,’’ she said.
According to her, the state government has identified the tourism sector as a viable alternative to oil, in its economic diversification drive, and is giving it adequate attention.
“We know that tourism worldwide is a money spinner, and the highest employer of labour.
“We are expecting that within the next 10 years, the sector should actually be the bedrock of our economy,’’ Anyameluhor said.
The general manager said that the state government was involved in “massive investment in infrastructure’’ and “sustenance of the prevailing peace’’ in the state.
Anyameluhor, who led a team to the National Tourism and Transport Summit and Expo in Abuja, noted that the government was intensifying efforts to make the environment more conducive and supportive of investments.
“One major thing I know that will make tourism thrive is infrastructure development, which the administration of Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa is massively investing in.
“There is massive road construction going on across in Delta State, particularly in the state capital.
“Tourism cannot thrive without good roads; it cannot thrive if you don’t have peace and harmony in various communities, and the current administration is working assiduously in this direction,’’ she said.
Delta boasts of tourism attractions such as the Mungo Park Building and Landers Brothers Anchorage both in Asaba; the Nana Living History (National Monument) in Koko, and the source of River Ethiope at Umuaja in Ukwuani Local Government Area.
Others are the Bible site at Araya in Isoko South Local Government Area, where a copy of the Holy Bible is believed to have miraculously descended from heaven in August, 1914, among others.(NAN)
CMY/FLP/EAL
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Edited by Folorunso Poroye/Ekemini Ladejobi