In its quest to promote tourism and help boost Ondo State economy, the  Government is  to organise a cultural festival in the third quarter of the year

The State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Wale Akinlosotu dropped the hint during an interactive session with the directors in the Department of Social Services and Community Development in  the 18 local government areas in the state, held at the ministry’s complex in  Akure.

Akinlosotu who disclosed that the initiative was  first of its kind cultural festival will improve commercial activities and revenue generation in the state. He added that it was the vision of the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to preserve the cultural heritage of the state and thrive its tourism sector, as encapsulated in the REDEEMED agenda.

He said further that the festival would promote cultural tourism, which the state had a comparative advantage, due to its unique cultural diversity, hence the need for the directors to turn in their inputs.

His words, “the mass inflow and outflow of people on regular basis to a place is tourism. That’s the situation when people go to places to behold a particular attraction. We can attract people to this state by celebrating our culture.”.

He admonished the directors, who he described as the custodians of cultural heritage at the grassroots, to think outside the box and come up with plans that would compliment the effort of the ministry on the project.

He said, “if we can effectively showcase our cultural diversity from time to time, this will attract tourists who would come from all walks of life to see it.

“They would spend some days,  move from one place to another,  lodge in hotels and there would be increase in commercial activities.

“Corporate organisations and individuals will enjoy better patronage and surely it will be a win-win situation for the residence and the government”

Akinlosotu further disclosed that the ministry’s had made some moves by  informing the 18 council’s bosses who were ready to support the initiative.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Boladale Akinyanmi encouraged the directors to put their challenges behind them and go back to the drawing board for a robust and  fundamental plans that could be pursued aggressively.

In their separate responses, the directors appreciated the ministry’s efforts at propagating the culture of the land, promising to set   machinery in motion for the actualisation of the laudable project.

They pleaded for the ministry’s assistance in ensuring that the system was supportive to them, especially at their various local governments, while pursuing the goal.