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Take a moment and think about what cities like Zanzibar, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Gaza have in common. According to a host of International avid travelers with accrued miles to prove it, these are prominent tourist cities in Africa.

Over the years, tourism has become an effective tool for social and economic development for many countries. Like Tanzania, for example. In 2018, the country generated about USD 2.4 billion from tourism, making tourism the largest foreign exchange earner for the country. However for countries like Nigeria (the Giant of Africa) with a $432 billion GDP, and beautiful landscapes in cities like Lagos, Enugu, Calabar, Abia, etc, it is appalling she hasn’t yet harnessed the full potential of her tourism industry. 

Despite being the Entertainment Capital of Africa and having incredible sand beaches, large water bodies, and a vibrant environment filled with rare trees, most of Lagos’ revenue has come from trade and manufacturing, generating about 90% of Nigeria’s overall trade flows, and approximately about 10% of the country’s GDP.

Beyond its entertainment and cultural export across various events like musical concerts, festivals, and exhibitions, Lagos must tap into other aspects of its tourism so as to rise to the narrative of an attractive state in Africa. Hence, the new tourism policy. According to experts, the 20-year master plan is robust enough to revitalize the tourism industry of Lagos, and the country at large.

What is the Lagos State New Tourism Policy?

According to the Deputy Governor of Lagos, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, the Lagos State New Tourism Policy is the intention of the administration

“…to better the lot of Lagosians, promote ease of doing business, attract more tourists to our State and domestic tourism activities in the Centre of Excellence”.

The policy which was designed by Messrs Ernst & Young was launched on the 1st of July 2021 at the Adeyemi-Bero auditorium in Ikeja is a 20-year Master Plan and Policy which seeks to make Lagos State one of the top-five tourism hubs in Africa by focusing on six T.H.E.M.E.S agenda (Governor Sanwo-Olu’s acronym for his administration’s six strategic development agenda).

The agenda includes strategic areas such as Culture and Heritage, Business and Meetings, Beach and Leisure, Medical and Wellness, Art and Entertainment, and Nature and Adventure.

Based on the adopted model and framework in the design, private-public partnership, intra-trade collaborations, talent discovery and ease of export are pivotal.

Here is how we believe the new master plan will transform the tourism sector:

1. Maximize Lagos Tourism Potential & Increase its Internal Growth Rate (IGR)

Lagos is well-known for its commercial and political grandeur. It is regarded as the commercial and entertainment capital of Africa. However, it has lived up to its expectations as a capitalist state than it has contributed to the tourism of Nigeria through entertainment and cultural export across various entities like movie, music and fashion.

Speaking on the new tourism policy, the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat revealed that the policy is one of the crucial steps to harness the state’s tourism potential. He said, “since we assumed office, over two years ago, we have taken decisive steps to explore the abundant possibilities in this very critical sector by allowing the practitioners and key stakeholders to be directly involved in every one of our policies”.

The state is rich with cultural abundance, historical embellishment, extensive beaches, and broad artistic and natural features. According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Connecting Lagos, Mr. Idris Aregbe, exploiting all of these abundances through tourism, travel, and hospitality can increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state to $3.4 billion in 2026.

1. Promote Public-Private Collaboration.

Taking cues from other sectors such as health and finance, we believe private organizations can play important roles in improving tourism in the country. The tourism sector with key players spanning across hospitality, food, and transport industries can benefit from strategic partnerships and alliances between the companies and the government.

With the new Lagos tourism plan, we speculate that the electrifying heritage of the state will be conserved. The Public-Private Partnership strategy will also aid private initiatives in utilizing and nourishing the various components in the industry.

Speaking about the policy, Dr. Kadri made it known the policy is an attestation to the current administration’s devotion to embrace stakeholders’ partnerships and promote inclusiveness since the tourism sector excels largely with public-private alliance.

1. A Valuable Guide for Stakeholders

Echoing the belief of the Deputy Governor, we foresee the new tourism plan becoming a guide to stakeholders in the industry. Also, the Lagos economy can buoy up local tourism through collaboration between tiers of government in the country.

1. Empower Youths & Create employment opportunities

According to Lagos state’s commissioner of Tourism, Art and Culture, Pharm. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, the policy is designed to generate tourism revenue for the government and businesses, provide more jobs and improve the standard of living in the state.

We believe the goal of the master plan to “make Lagos State one of the top-five urban tourism destinations in Africa” is viable as evident through the special plans by the Ministry of Tourism to select and train 500 youths as tour guides from the five IBILE Divisions of the State. Also, the Ministry has been equipping more creative practitioners with relevant skills under the umbrella of the Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI).

One of such initiatives is the Creative Lagos Project in partnership with DEL-YORK INTERNATIONAL.

The program empowered 1000 creatives with relevant skills such as Digital Marketing, Post-production, Digital Film-making, Documentary Film-making, Fashion, Arts & Craft, and Producing & Business of Film that will boost the creative economy of the state.

Fortifying Lagos state with many creative talents, tourist centers, and diverse cultural heritage is a great advantage which is why the Creative Lagos Project by Del-York International seeks to create a culture of creativity in the state. We understand that culture and creativity are essential elements of tourism. Culture helps to build uniqueness in the global tourist marketplace. And in turn, tourism is a crucial means for promoting culture and generating income to provide optimal support for cultural heritage and creativity. Therefore, as the creative economy develops, paramount collaboration with tourism unfolds, presenting more demand opportunities for new and exciting experiences and tourist products. 

Through the new Lagos tourism plan, the Creative Lagos Project, and many others, the Lagos State government and Del-York International are reshaping the Nigerian creative industry in many unique ways.

To know more about our activities and current projects, visit here or our social media channels — @delyorkinternational