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By PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
The Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Special Duties, Ekpeyong Akiba has explained why Cross River State Government gave out N1 million to 20 hotels in the state.
The beneficiaries include: ten hotels from the southern senatorial district and ten from the northern senatorial districts respectively.
Presenting the cheques to the benefiting Hotels in Calabar weekend during the tourism award ceremony, the Managing Director, Cross River State Tourism Bureau, Mr Ekpenyong Ojoi said for over eight years, the hospitality sector in the state had suffered total neglect
He stressed that Governor Otu, when he came on board promised that he would strengthen the hospitality sector to boost the tourism industry, with the theme: “Empowering Hotels and Investing in Excellence, a Commitment to Sustainable Tourism”.
Ojoi also stated that the Governor gave out the first N10 million to ten hotels in the state last year and has also shown magnanimity to fifteen restaurants in the state with a cash of N500,000 to each of the recognized restaurants that are registered with tourism bureau
The Special Adviser, General Duties, in an interview with journalists, said what the governor has done is deliberate to promote and to enhance their productivity especially during this period that there would be influx of visitors to the state
He noted that hospitality industry is another sector that create job opportunities and also brings economic development to the state, maintaining that this shows the readiness of the state to Host the world in this year’s carnival
