Sterling Bank pledges N10bn to revamp domestic tourism post-COVID-19

Sterling Bank has pledged a N10bn facility to revamp Nigeria’s tourism post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive Officer of the bank, made the commitment while addressing participants during a webinar organised by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation.

Suleiman, who spoke on the topic, ‘Investment for the Tourism Sector to Enhance Domestic Tourism,’ stated that the bank had funding capacity and “is ready” to put N10bn behind domestic tourism if the right stakeholders were available in the industry.

He enjoined stakeholders in the industry to collaborate rather than compete, pointing out that they need to come together to offer worthwhile experience in different aspects of the industry.

Suleiman encouraged tourism operators to sit down with their bankers to build the experience together, adding that the sector is a billion-dollar business.

He stressed the need to have extensive discussion with stakeholders in the sector in order to scale up, advising them to stop approaching the government as individuals but as a team so they can push for policy initiatives that would be beneficial to the industry.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who declared the virtual meeting open, noted that tourism assets and other social imprints in the country were huge.

The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Isu Gekpe, said the restrictions on tourism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the most vulnerable groups in the industry.

Also speaking, Director General of NTDC, Folorunsho Coker, expressed the hope that the commission would be able to exploit opportunities in the hospitality industry through strategic positioning.

Get in Touch

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related Articles