Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa has reiterated his administration’s commitment to developing the tourism subsector as a revenue earner for economic diversification and development of the state.
The governor stated this at the commemoration of World Tourism Day (WTD) on Monday in Lafia.
Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, the governor, said that tourism had moved from being only a livelihood enterprise to an economic development and diversification model adopted by many nations for sustainability and jobs creation.
Sule said the state was richly endowed with numerous tourism resources, cultural and solid minerals, adding that its proximity to Abuja placed it at strategic advantage as a tourist destination.
The governor said that the theme of this year’s WTD ” Tourism for Inclusive Growth” was in line with the policy trust of his administration, which aimed at exploiting the existing potentials to galvanised growth and development in Nasarawa state.
“This is why our administration is focused and determined to encourage and attract private investors into the state so as to facilitate full exploitation of our potentials for the benefit of the society,” he said.
Sule said government had done a lot towards the development of tourism such as registration, grading, and classification of hotels in the state.
Other efforts in the sector included the construction of Shabu recreational Garden, upgrade of Marhi forest to National Park as well as the development of Pepe Ruwa Lake among others.
He also said arrangements had been made to train personnel with professional skills in tourism to serve as tour guides and destination managers in 13 Local Government Areas of the state.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Yusuf Musa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, said the Ministry marked the day to create awareness on the importance of tourism to socio economic development and its sustainability.
“The purpose of World Tourism Day celebration is to reflect on the real and potential benefits of this new socio-cultural, educational, political, and economic phenomenon called tourism,” he said.
Alhaji Mustapha Adams, Chairman of the occasion, said the state was blessed with tourism potentials, saying that if fully developed would make the state a tourist destination and boost its internally generated revenue.
Mr. Dogo Shammah, former Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, said the state had laid a solid foundation for the development of tourism sector and called for sustained attention.
(NAN)
