LASG to Host Hybrid World Tourism Day Event

The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has said that the celebration of this year's World Tourism Day celebration will be in conformity with Covid19 safety protocols as plans have been concluded to restrict physical participation by its stakeholders during the celebration. The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture Pharmacist (Mrs.) Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf made this known at a Technical Meeting held in preparation for the event billed for next week Sunday, 27th September, 2020.

At the meeting, it was agreed that tourism stakeholders who will be participating in the event will join the celebration through Zoom platform, Facebook Livestream on Lagos State Government and from four divisions of State, while a smaller number will join some high profile guests at the physical event taking place in Ikeja. The Commissioner, who emphasized the importance of social distancing and adherence to Covid19 safety Protocols during the Technical Meeting ahead of the event agreed that the numbers of participants for the physical event be reduced  to meet the maximum numbers of persons allowed for physical gathering for now while others can join via Zoom.

She added that the celebration will give room for various stakeholders in the Tourism industry to discuss and explore the United Nations' World Tourism Organisation UNWTO Theme for this year's World Tourism Day, which is Global Community United to Celebrate 'Tourism and Rural Development'. The discussion, according to her, would be led by a Panel of Discussants who are expected to come up with strategies to revive Tourism in Lagos after the Covid19 Experience as a way of bringing about a very rapid recovery for the Industry.

The Panel of Discussants, Akinbile-Yussuf revealed, will include some of the past Permanent Secretaries and Commisioners of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, just as she added that His Royal Majesty, the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Gbolahan Lawal will also deliver a Goodwill message during the event. She emphasised the need to target grassroots participation during the celebration, assuring that tourism stakeholders would also be carried along in the planned activities for the event.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Babatunde Olaide-Mesewaku told the Technical Team that just as events all over the world are going virtual, it was expedient for Lagos State, being model city State to tap into available technologies and make the event an example for event planners in the State. He promised that with the partnership with a competent private sector event organiser, Lagos will deliver a world-class World Tourism Day event.

Recall that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture had earlier announced that Lagos State Government will be joining tourism stakeholders across the globe to celebrate this year's edition of World Tourism Day on the 27th of September when the Ministry hosted the Ambassador Ikechi Uko-led team from Akwaaba African Travel Market and Atqnews in Alausa, Ikeja.