Omolara Adagunodo, Managing Director of Jumia’s hotel and flight marketplace, an online business platform, has called on the new Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu, to focus on sustainable tourism.
This is in a bid to further boost the State’s chances of becoming a 21st-century economy, that will take the Nigerian tourism industry to the next level and ensure that the sector contributes more to the State’s Gross Domestic Product.
Adagunodo in a press statement said, “As the government is settling down to work, I encourage the administration to concentrate on sustainable tourism. This is because, the next phase of tourism is for it to become sustainable.
“For Lagos to establish a robust tourism industry, it requires a roadmap that takes full account of tourism’s current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”
She added that, “a combined report by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, International Trade Centre and Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) reveal that tourism (sustainable) is widely recognized as a key sector for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), given its major potential to contribute to jobs and wealth creation in the developing world. Tourism is estimated to represent 10 percent of global GDP and generates directly or indirectly, one in ten jobs globally.”
Adagunodo added that alongside sustainable tourism, the government should invest massively in infrastructure, give a facelift to the state’s tourism assets, look into taxation challenges in the hospitality industry as well as the ratings and classification of hotels.
