Governor Sanwo-Olu. Photo/facebook/jidesanwooluofficial

Euro Vision Ventures has partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Arts and Tourism to project the state on an international platform as the preferred destination for tourism, leisure and business in Africa.The Programme Director, Euro Vision Ventures, Mr. Dozie Atueyi, disclosed this while announcing the Lagos Art and Tourism Expo exhibition scheduled to hold in Istanbul, London and Toronto from October to December 2022.Atueyi said Lagos, despite being a top tourism destination in Africa, has some untapped potential, which makes the state lose the revenue that should have been generated through the industry.

He said the tourism potential of Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general, if well harnessed, would provide more funds for the nation as well as take millions of youths out of the labour market.

Atueyi said the project would ensure proper harnessing of Lagos music, arts, dance, crafts, culture and tourism potential to be projected to the world.

He said in the process of executing the project, the state tourism and cultural potential would be transported for exhibitions in cities like Toronto, Istanbul and London.

He noted that the exhibition would also go a long way in attracting tourists to the country as well as boosting Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.

“We are out to project Nigeria, most especially Lagos to the world. We want to reverse the trend of people wanting to go abroad to tourist attractions, as there are lots of opportunities here.

“We will be projecting Lagos aquatic offerings, tourism potential, cultural assets, fabrics, artworks and all manner of crafts. This is to make Lagos the most preferred destination for tourism, leisure and business.

“This tourism, cultural potential, arts and crafts will be exhibited in Istanbul from October 5 to 9, in London from November 16 to 20 and in Toronto from December 14 to 18,” he said.

Also speaking, the Founder, of Lagos International Jazz Festival, Mr. Ayoola Sadare, said music from the city of Lagos would be projected cutting across Fuji, Jazz and Afrobeats.

He said the project is not a relocation plan for Nigerians to travel abroad, but an opportunity for the products of their creativity to be exported for patronage.

He said the exhibition would create viable marketing platforms for Nigerian music, arts, tourism and culture.

On his part, the Creative Director, FC Accessories, Mr. Tosin Olukuade, who specialises in turning storytelling of cities into works of art, said he would be relaying the stories of Lagos in some works of art, which would be exhibited as accessories.

Olukuade said these accessories would be coming in the form of household materials and souvenirs.