Emmanuel Thomas
April 22, 2015 – The Lagos State Government has said that hotels operating in the state lost a total of N8 billion during the onset of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in 2014.
Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-governmental Relations, Mr. Oladisun Holloway made the revelation while speaking at the annual ministerial press briefing in Lagos .
He said that the figure is restricted to just 3,200 hotels that were registered by the Lagos State Government.
He said that hotels operating in the state make as much as N46 billion every year adding that the hotels contribute the highest percentage of tourism earning in Lagos State.
While stressing the importance of registration, he said that during the outbreak of Ebola, things became extremely difficult for the hotels adding that the state government was able to meet with those who are registered with a view to evolving strategies to keep the scourge at bay.
Speaking on the Lagos Carnival, the commissioner said that this year there would be no major acts for security reasons.
He said that last year some invited guests were overly excited as a result of the major acts featured in the festival and acknowledged that several people were injured while properties were destroyed.
He said that about 1.2 million people attended the carnival and that only 3,000 people from the security outfits were used to take care of those who attended the event.
On grading of hotels operating in the state, he said that it is not true that the last grading and classification was characterized by controversy but that it is standard practice to announce only hotels graded 5 to 3 and that those that did not do well are usually not announced.
