BENIN CITY- The Edo Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, in partnership with Viko Nigeria, on Wednesday unveiled tourism and information desks at the Benin Airport to boost tourism.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the arrival and departure wings of the airport, Gov. Godwin Obaseki said that the desks would provide investors and visitors opportunities to know about the tourism potential of the state.
The governor, represented by the Chief of Staff, Mr Taiwo Akerele, said that the aim was to make the state a tourism destination of the country and boost the economy.
Obaseki said that the state was putting in place structures to leverage on its tourism potential to attract local and foreign investment.
According to the governor, his administration is partnering with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria on ways to make night landing possible in the airport to increase influx of passengers for businesses and leisure.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Tourism, Mr Osaze Osemwengie, said that the information desks would form part of the road-map toward the development of the state’s vast tourism potential.
He said that the idea was conceived by the governor in his quest to boost investment and employment opportunities in the state.
“The airport is the gateway to the state if you are coming by flight, and the desks will give you all the needed information about the places to visit and what obtains in the various parts of the state,’’ he said.
The Executive Director of Viko Nigeria, Mr Kanu Chidi, said that tourism could contribute much to the development of any economy.
Chidi said that the partnership with the state government would rekindle the desired interest in the tourism sector.
According to him, information to be provided to guests will include tourist sites and hotel reservations as well as information on culture and taxes.
