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Lagos Tourism Development: Akinboboye recommends La Campagne model

By Chuks Nwanne
05 May 2018   |   3:25 am
The Founder of Motherland Beckons and President of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, has tasked the Lagos State Government on rural tourism, by ensuring that tourist attractions are built around the rural community due to its multiplier effect.

Otunba Wanle Akinboboye

The Founder of Motherland Beckons and President of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, has tasked the Lagos State Government on rural tourism, by ensuring that tourist attractions are built around the rural community due to its multiplier effect.

Akinboboye made the statement during a session at the Lagos Tourism Summit, where stakeholders and operators of note made valid contributions and recommendations to Lagos State government on how best to build its tourism destination. Held under the theme, Towards a sustainable tourism driven economy, the summit was aimed at providing resource materials for the state Tourism Master Plan, which is already in the works.

Drawing extensively from his experience at developing La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort in Ikegun Village, Lekki, Lagos, Akinboboye gave a brief history of how he birthed the resort over 30 years ago. He then spoke of the attendant economic benefits of its operation to the rural community and the rapid transformation that the presence of the resort has ignited in the village, which include the provision of employment, social amenities, exposure of the people to international best practice and empowerment.

To succeed with its dream, he recommended the La Campagne model to the state government, adding that any tourism initiative of the state must be built around the people and the host communities.

The success of La Campagne model has today made Akinboboye a most sought after tourism consultant and investor across Africa and Europe. Beside the resort in Ikegun, work is nearing completion at the La Campagne Tropicana River and Mountain Resort in Koton Karfi, Kogi State, which is the first La Campagne resort outside Ikegun Village.

In Cote d’ Ivoire, he has created Destination Grand Bassam; Destination Akosombo (Ghana), Destination Al Nejashi and Lalibella (Ethiopia), and Destination Ouidah (Benin Republic) while plans are on for the creation of Destination Goree Island in Senegal by July.

In Europe, the vision has berthed in Turkey where Motherland Beckons, through it Turkish partners, has created the Africa Turkey Trade Centre (ATTC), which is currently making waves through a number of investment and exchange programmes between the two countries.

Akinboboye commended the governor on the successful summit, adding that the governor has shown a clear understanding of tourism business and how it works.“It is a new dawn for tourism in Lagos State. I hope the lessons learnt from the summit would be put into good use,” he said.

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