By Ayo Onikoyi

As the world celebrate the 2024 World Tourism Day today, the Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Tourism Board, Dame Rita Mbah, has said the huge investment by the state government in the sector is turning around tourism in the state and already yielding positive results.

She commended Governor Peter Mbah for the efforts and noted that the development is already impacting positively on tourism in the state.

“This year’s world tourism day encourages us to promote the connection between tourism and peace. So, by preserving our cultural and natural heritage we can reduce tension and nurture peaceful co-existence. Governor Peter Mbah has invested billions of naira in the state’s tourism, this is not just to beautify the state, but also upgrade the parks and developing numerous projects in the tourism sector,” she stated.

According to her, the state Government recently embarked on the first stage of Enugu City beautification from the Enugu gateway at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.

‘’We are also creating and improving the ambience in our airport gateway by introducing art murals which depict our cultural heritage with welcoming works of art and photos of some of our landmarks.

‘’Moving from the Airports, the capital territory is working towards ensuring that we have a welcoming view by removing unnecessary items that create an eyesore. The Ministry of Environment is also working towards making sure that our green areas are maintained,” she stated.

Mbah also stated that the Tourism Board is almost done with the first phase of the city beautification and roundabout scheme.

‘’We are upgrading about 13 roundabouts in the first phase, planting flowers and upgrading our parks. We would discuss the upgrade of the parks momentarily, but let’s look at some major projects that would enhance tourism in Enugu: The development of the International conference centre, the development of a Five-Star Hotel, development of Hotel Presidential, and the development of a 300-bed hospital for medical tourism.”

According to her, when completed these projects have the capacity to put Enugu in the tourism map not only in Africa but across the globe.

‘’ For Example, the international conference centre would cater to many conferences within Africa and Nigeria. When people come for conferences, the Five-Star Hotel will come in handy because of its proximity to the conference centre within the same vicinity. Not only that, the International conference centre also houses an amusement park , theater , event centre and retail shops. So, it serves as a one stop shop for tourism activities’’

Dame Mbah also retreated that the state government recently awarded a contract for development of five recreation parks across the state; such as Edward Nnaji Park, Unity Park, Ejindu Park, Ngwo Park and Eze Park.

‘’The Edward Nnaji Park will house a state of the art game arcade, amusement and water park., while the other four parks will be equipped with football pitches, five aside pitches, basketball court, lawn tennis court, quad bike arena, horse rides, kiddies recreation and fun equipment.

She also hinted that the state government is taking the annual Unity Christmas Park to a whole new level.

‘’The metal fabrication for this year’s Christmas park started over a fortnight ago with over 30 indigenous welders working day and night to create a memorable Christmas fun for all.

‘’With all these projects and over 1,000 projects going on at the same time in Enugu State I am proud to say that indeed we handed over our future to a governor that understands the assignment and he has continually proven to us that indeed tomorrow is here’,’ she added.