Lagos-Nigeria Rolled out Plans to Boost and Support Tourism sector Post-Covid-19

Lagos, being the commercial capital of Nigeria, valued at $130 billion in Gross Domestic Product, making the State the fourth wealthiest city in Africa. The city is a source of mixed emotions for its more than 20 million inhabitants.

Many come to the town from the hinterland to pursue their dreams; some succeed, some do not; it’s known as the gaming center’s hub. That boasts over 20 retail gambling firms across all sectors, from the lottery to the casino, pool betting, and sportsbook brands, and the State is the center of all gambling activities in the country.

However, Casino operators in Lagos Nigeria should brace up for a significant business boom in the next cause of the three-year plan laid down by the state government to drive new growth in the State’s hospitality business. The move is to attract more tourists and foreign investment to the State. The state government has approved N1 billion seed capital investment into tourism announced by the Governor of the State Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the 6th Lagos Corporate Assembly. The Governor said the investment was required to bolster the hospitality sector by providing essential support to operators in the tourism business with soft loans to boost and drive growth capacity.

Further said, the initiative is necessary to position tourism business as a new frontier for job creation, and economic growth in the post-coronavirus era since the Covid-19 was detected in the State that has ravaged the tourism sector in the State since the lockdown of its international airspace. The seed capital will be domiciled in the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF); further, the funds will be available specifically to those in the tourism sector. The Governor also said part of the State plans to foster tourism is technological innovations that have started the first phase of the 6,000km optical fiber being laid across Lagos to provide technology infrastructure and expand mobile network with a more efficient service to the consumer.

The State has also continued to strengthen its Ease of Doing Business policies to drive private and foreign investment and economic growth. He said this is being made possible by the digitations of business registration and Asset acquisition processes that removed administrative bottlenecks. However, it is quite an exciting news for the tourism and casino operators as both entities complement each other has it is in Nigeria most of the casinos based in hotels, of which significant numbers of its customers are tourists. Perhaps it is vital to know Lagos Nigeria boasts some of the exciting land-based casinos.

The Federal palace hotel and casino, Hot fun Café at Haille Selasis, Jacaranda Casino Ikeja, Lagos Poker Club casino, Hot Fun Casino, the Green Lion Casio, Granada Amusement Casino, Aristocrat Casino, 9 Jackpot Hot Fun, Sheraton Hotel casino, Eko Hotel among others. The testaments of the tourism contribution to the State are evident according to Statista Tourism Gross Domestic Product from 2006 to 2016 is 2 billion US dollars, while the forecast from 2016 to 2026 was approximately 3.4 billion US dollars. Still, the tourism sector has suffered a setback as we battle the pandemic in the country that has seen hotels, clubs, bars, and entertainment centers closed down for over four months and a half in the State.

Consequently, most of the casino operators operating in the State domiciled there business in hotels in the country. In contrast, other sectors in the entertainment scene are still on lockdown. They are hoping in time that the State government comes to their rescue that has seen the Federal government announced the lockdown’s extension to close the Bars, Hotel, Clubs, and entertainment center as a whole.

About Post Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.