Sterling Bank Plc has pledged support for the 20-year Lagos State Tourism Masterplan and policy crafted to transform the state into one of the top five tourism destinations in Africa.
A statement from the bank on Sunday said the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Abubakar Suleiman, disclosed this in a goodwill message at the public presentation of the tourism masterplan and policy.
“We will support the government to unleash the tourism potential of Lagos State and reposition it into one of the most preferred destinations in Africa for local and international leisure travellers,” Suleiman said.
According to him, the presentation of the 20-year masterplan and policy to industry stakeholders was a concrete and coordinated action for re-booting the tourism economy in Lagos on a robust and sustainable basis.
Suleiman, who was represented at the event by the Regional Business Executive, Institutional Banking, Lagos, Mojibola Oladunni, said, “We are confident that the masterplan and policy will ensure a more sustainable and resilient tourism sector that would improve the citizenry’s quality of life, accelerate job creation and poverty alleviation.”
He noted that COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions threw the global tourism industry a curveball in 2020, stopping about one billion people from embarking on international trips.
This, he said, provided a massive opportunity for Lagos to work with private sector partners to stimulate the sector to create experiences that would excite and make homegrown international leisure travellers’ visit local destinations.
He said although Lagos had been a beacon for managing tourism in a structured, coordinated, and sustainable manner, the unveiling of a masterplan and policy would further harness the power of innovation, entrepreneurship, and communication to develop the sector.
The statement said that while presenting the masterplan, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, said, “We have taken decisive steps to explore the abundant possibilities in this very critical sector by allowing practitioners and key stakeholders to be directly involved in every one of our policies.”
