Anaeme who also denied allegations of government imposition of N40,000 on each hotel proprietor in the state for the purchase of a piece of the nation’s flag said that a neutral body mutually selected by the government and the hotel owners is rather in charge of the project, adding that the N40,000 levy was a product of mutual agreement between the hotel owners and company in question.
Speaking extensively on the economic benefits of tourism, which, according to him, include job creation, business promotion, site seeing, rural transformation and spiritual uplift, Chief Anaeme said that the state currently boasts of over 200 hotels and over 150 tourist sites some of which are either fully developed or are undergoing development.
“We are not forcing hoteliers to buy pieces of the nation’s flags at N40,000 per piece but as corporate bodies, they (the hoteliers) must put up the Nigerian flag in their offices and premises and there is a company in charge of this”.
The commissioner drew attention to government’s free education programme, road constructions, general hospitals, provision of infrastructural facilities and the Blue Lake Treasure at Oguta, which, according to him, are all geared toward promoting tourism in the state, stressing that the World Tourism Day which takes place on the 27th of September annually as established by the United Nations, was meant to showcase the rich tourism potentials of the state to the world as encapsulated in a compendium for the information and awareness of members of the public.