JABAMAH TOURISM EXPO: Lagos Bags Top Tourism State, Receives 2 Other Recognition Awards  

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, was recognised as the Tourism Governor of the Year 2020 and Best Governor of the Year, respectively, by the organisers of the just concluded Jabamah – the Wonders of Nigeria Tourism Expo 2021 – over the weekend in Abuja.

 

Apart from the award conferred on the Governor, Lagos State was equally recognised as the “Top Tourism State” in the country, making a total of three different awards received by the State Government.

 

Receiving the Awards on behalf of Mr. Governor and the State Government, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, described the multiple awards as a challenge for the government to continue to pursue people-oriented policies in the tourism and entertainment sector.

 

She assured all tourism enthusiasts to expect more from the State Government as plans have already been completed to unveil several initiatives that will further boost the State’s tourism sector in the next few months.

 

According to her, the Ministry is already in the process of packaging some international standard documentaries that would further promote the rich tourism and cultural potentials of the State to both local and International tourists in an attempt to attract more visitors to the State.

 

Akinbile-Yussuf also informed that the State Government had identified training and retraining as an integral part of tourism activities, hence the sponsorship of some officials of the Ministry to participate in training programmes while also providing networking opportunity for the State.

 

The organiser of the annual event, Ikechi Uko, had earlier said that Abuja Jabamah is usually held in November but due to the COVID-19 lockdown last year it was moved to this time of the year.

 

This year’s Abuja Jabamah 2021, according to Uko, featured a two-day specialist training for travel practitioners, the first of its kind in Nigeria, with professional certificates issued to the participants at the end of the training.

 

The participants which included some delegates from the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture were trained on Overview of Tourism and its Trends in Nigeria; Destination Management Concepts; Packaging Tour Products for Export; Tour Guiding Principles; Festivals in Nigeria; National Parks in Nigeria; Museums in Nigeria; Understanding Nigeria’s Biodiversity; Philosophy and Strategies of Tourism Promotions among others.