Seven years after the Lagos State Tourism Promotion Agency Law was passed and signed into law, the state government is yet to fully implement it.

The Executive Director of the African Travel Commission (ATC), Dr. Lucky George, made this known in an interview with The Guardian yesterday, expressing concern over the continued delay in operationalising the law.

According to him, the delay has weakened efforts to establish a professional and independent institution capable of driving tourism policy, destination management, investment coordination, and long-term sector planning in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

The Lagos State Tourism Promotion Agency Law was passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly and signed into law in 2019 during the administration of former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

The law was intended to create a structured institutional framework for tourism development in Lagos, widely regarded as Nigeria’s entertainment and commercial hub.

George regretted that seven years after its passage and assent, the agency is yet to emerge as a fully independent and functional institution.

He questioned the government’s political commitment to implementing tourism reforms and sustaining long-term institutional planning within the sector.

He said: “And why does Lagos State, despite all its enormous tourism and entertainment potential, still appear trapped in repetitive annual tourism programming without lasting institutional structure?”He added that concerns are heightened by the Lagos Tourism Master Plan reportedly developed by Ernst & Young for the state government at considerable public expense.

According to him, the master plan was designed to reposition Lagos as a competitive global tourism destination with strong institutional foundations capable of surviving beyond political administrations.

He noted that the establishment of the Lagos State Tourism Promotion Agency was expected to serve as a key vehicle for implementing that vision.

However, he said the current administration under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has continued to support entertainment, cultural festivals, nightlife development, transportation infrastructure, and event-driven tourism activities.

He stressed that sustainable tourism development requires more than annual events and publicity campaigns.

George argued that long-term tourism growth depends on strong institutions, reliable data systems, coordinated destination management, environmental planning, investment regulation, and policy continuity.

He warned that without functional institutional structures, tourism risks remaining seasonal entertainment rather than a sustainable economic sector.

He further alleged that institutional resistance within the ministry may have slowed the agency’s full emergence as an independent body as required by law.

According to him, successive administrations have continued to rely heavily on ministry-driven tourism programmes while institutional reforms remain largely unimplemented.

He also raised concerns over structural challenges in the sector, including weak tourism statistics, fragmented attraction management, poor coordination, inconsistent implementation, and limited long-term planning.

“There is a growing perception within the industry that past and current commissioners in the tourism ministry have been reluctant to fully release operational influence to an independent agency backed by law,” he said.

He added that no serious tourism destination can thrive when governance is overly centralised within ministries or political offices.

George urged the Lagos State House of Assembly to strengthen oversight on the implementation of the law, noting that legislative responsibility extends beyond passage of bills to ensuring full implementation of enacted laws.