Lagos – The Federal Government has been called upon to empower operators of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to utilise the opportunities available within the tourism sector.
Mr Tarzan Balogun, the Managing Director, Tarzan Boats told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday that such empowerment will boost activities in the industry.
He urged the government to set up Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) that would work with a sensitive and important financial institution to develop a financial portfolio to encourage SMEs operators.
According to him, the fund will enable SMEs operators, local entrepreneurship to meet the supply and demand of tourism.
Balogun said that the emphasis was to empower more entrepreneurs to participate in the local economy.
He appealed to the appropriate authorities to come up with enabling policy that would drive the facilitation of local indigenous entrepreneurship.
The managing director suggested that government should establish a `Tourism Bank’ that would provide a well-needed source of funding for persons interested in operating in the sector.
He said that the bank would be operating like Bank of Industry seeking out only tourism opportunities and provides financing for these initiatives.
“The importance of the local entrepreneurs buying into the requirements to supply the inputs of tourism is critical because that’s how the tourism money is going to be retained.
“With this arrangement, we would build tourism with value-added,“ he told NAN.
Balogun said that tour operators, travel agencies, tourism experts, hotel operators, eat rite owners and tourism promoters would benefit from such initiatives.
He added that such idea would increase the nation`s foreign exchange earnings, attract investors, increase the government revenues and boost domestic tourism development. (NAN)