Lagos Hotels’ Turnover Drops By N8bn

The Lagos State Govern
ment has said the annual turnover of the top 12 hotels in the state in 2014 dropped by N8bn owing to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease .
Commissioner for Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr Disun Holloway, made the disclosure at a news conference in Ikeja.
He said that the drop from the average turnover of N46billion resulted from a decline of occupancy rates in the hotels from 75 per cent to 36 per cent.
Holloway said that the disease had much more impact on the hospitality industry as smaller hotels and restaurants also recorded lower patronage during the period.
The commissioner said that issues like epidemics and security were threats to tourism development, as they were great disincentive to patronage.
Holloway said that tourism had not attained its rightful position as a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product in the country due to poor infrastructure.
He pointed out that if essential infrastructure like electricity was in regular supply, the sector would be a major contributor to the economy.
The commissioner said no fewer than 3200 hotels had been enumerated in the state, out of which 400 had been registered.
He, however, said that over 2000 hotels were still operating without government’s approval, appealing to non-complying hotels to  formalise their operations or risk sanctions.