BONIFACE Igbeneghu, an Associate Professor of French Language, University of Lagos (UNILAG), has said that beautifying cultural sites will attract more tourists to such sites and improve foreign exchange earnings for the country.

Igbeneghu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the three tiers of government should invest more in the cultural aspect of the country.

The don said that they could achieve this through regular maintenance of infrastructure at tourism and entertainment centres.

“Nigeria has several untapped tourism potential, both in physical and human resources that can be adequately packaged to attract tourists from around the world.

“By so doing, we will be selling our products to the international community, and thereby promoting our cultures and traditions in the Diaspora.

“This will make Nigeria a better choice for tourism, social activities and cultural diplomacy for foreign tourists,” he said.

Igbeneghu urged the Lagos State Government to embark on the renovation of the Afrikan Shrine and its environments following the visit by President Emmanuel Macron of France to the place.

He said that the state government should utilise the opportunity the visit had provided to promote trade, commerce, entertainment and international politics in and around the state.

“Several foreigners will want to see what attracted Macron to the shrine. They will, therefore, be interested in also visiting the shrine whenever they have the opportunity to visit Nigeria.

“Upgrading the infrastructure in and around the place, such as renovating the road networks, erecting functional street lights and building capital projects around the shrine, will make it more attractive as a tourist centre.

“This will definitely improve the inflow of tourists, boosts foreign exchange earnings and upscale tourism ratings in the country,” he said.

Igbeneghu said that for a world leader to have visited the shrine shows how much Nigeria’s culture is respected in the international community, particularly, its entertainment and tourism sectors. (NAN)

– Jul. 23, 2018 @ 11:29 GMT