When African tourists explored Lagos attractions
As the buses in the entourage of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, screeched to a halt within the Lagos House, Ikeja, Lagos, tourists alighted, excitement written on their faces.
Consisting of eight Ministers of Tourism and representatives from 44 countries across Africa, the tourism stakeholders were part of the delegates who had just participated in the 2018 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Commission for Africa (CAF) conference hosted in Abuja.
Within the State House hall where the delegates were being hosted, documentaries about Lagos was shown.
Explaining the rationale behind the visit, Muhammed said the visit to Lagos was a major part of the conference and Lagos was chosen because of its foremost place in the country’s tourism architecture. He also has some kind words for his host, Goernor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Similarly, the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili said Lagos has a pivotal role to play in the organisation’s quest to promote new tourism destinations across the world.
Describing the visit to Lagos as the best part of the meeting, the UNWTO Scribe said he was coming to Lagos for the first time adding, “We are here to promote new tourism destinations.”
Responding, State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode said the massive investment in infrastructural renewal by his administration was a well thought out strategy to position Lagos as a tourism hub.
“We believe that with the kind of population and the market that Lagos has, we must start to create tourism infrastructure to be able to grow the economy, that is why as you move across Lagos, you would observe that it is technically a construction site; from the airport and as you go on the bridges and also when you go to the Eko Atlantic City.
“But the ultimate goal is that these infrastructures will now drive people to come and spend their weekend here, just the way you have decided to stay here in Lagos and the government gets some form of revenue from taxes when people use our hotels,” Governor Ambode said.
According to the Governor, the UN report of 2016 affirmed that 86 people enter Lagos every hour, with only Mumbai coming close with 79, followed by New York and London with seven and nine respectively, adding that it was a viable opportunity to use tourism to drive human and capital development of the 24 million people in the State.
Done with the formalities of reception at the State House, the delegates embarked on a journey to the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island for what was tagged, a technical visit.
At the Corporate Head Office of the Atlantic City, the visitors were given a snippet of what their visit was all about by the State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayorinde. He said the whole idea is to let the delegates into the dream and birthing of the most talked-about property and estate development project in Africa.
The Vice Chairman, South Energyx Nigeria Limited, the estate firm in charge of the constructions, Ronald Chaugory Jnr. said the concept behind the Atlantic City is to build another modern city within the city of Lagos with space and attractions for people all over the world.
“What we are offering is an exclusive lifestyle, an enviable place to live, work and play and a wealth of other amenities. These amenities include the recreational facilities such as a 10.2km long waterfront promenade and two marinas, retail shopping, coffee shops and restaurants, healthcare facilities and schools and a pedestrian lifestyle. We are determined to ensure that Eko Atlantic offers all the comforts and convenience of a 21st century city supported by modern and efficient infrastructural facilities.
“Available apartments within the city offer a wide variety of choices from entry level apartments to ultra-high-end developments. The project began in 2006 and in 2016, the first residential building within the city was completed and as we speak, residents who have started occupying spaces there are already enjoying oceanfront views, broad canals, and attractive promenades,” Chaugory said.
Mohammed said, “The choice of Eko Atlantic City for this visit is not an accident. It is designed to showcase to the world a city that promises to be a tourism haven, with the largest shopping mall in sub-Saharan Africa and a city which also boasts of vast amenities for entertainment, such as food courts, cinemas and playgrounds, an ample parking space and a canal that can be used for water transportation and water sports.”
The South African Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, said from what he has been able to glean from interactions with officials of the Atlantic City, the fears being expressed about the city’s suitability has been addressed.
When the delegate train left the Atlantic City, it headed towards the popular Eko Hotel and Suites where the visitors were treated to a buffet with varieties of dishes and drinks.
But then there was still one more stopover at the Broad Street, Lagos Island Marina: the Freedom Park.
Once a notorious colonial prison, the modern Freedom Park has a history. Established in 1872 as ‘Her Majesty Prison’ otherwise known as ‘Broad Street Prison’, its current managers said it was rebuilt in 1885 with bricks imported from England at a cost of 16,000 pounds to the British Administration.
Other sites within the Park were the old prison’s parade ground turned to the Park’s Hall of Fame, the Record’s office now transformed to a Museum as well as the new Kongi Harvest Art Gallery dedicated to house artworks of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka. The completion of Freedom Park’s tour marked the end of the delegates’ outing in Lagos.