The Ogun Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Toyin Taiwo, on Thursday said that the ministry had concluded plans to explore online marketing for adire fabrics and other cultural products in the state.
Taiwo disclosed this while receiving executives of the Association of Travels and Tourism Writers of Nigeria (ATTWN) who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abeokuta.
The commissioner stated that the COVID -19 pandemic, which had ravaged the world, had called for redefining and redefinition of many things.
He said that the online marketing strategy was part of measures to respond to the challenges of COVID -19 as it affected culture and tourism in the state.
“It will surprise you that Ogun will be doing the first of its kind, once it is approved, by having our adire market online. We will be selling all these things again.
“All our products will be online, our cultural team, our cultural tours, our troops too will be online.
“Very soon, we are coming up with the virtual reality, whereby you can just sit down and experience all that you need to without even travelling physically to enjoy or explore these things.
“It is COVID-19 that is pushing us into this and it is a blessing in disguise,” he said.
Taiwo appreciated the association for the visit, saying that it was important to collaborate in order to project the culture and tourism sector.
He added that the state government would take tourist attraction to the people, stressing that Gov. Dapo Abiodun had placed a high priority on the development of the sector in the state.
The commissioner said that the state government would continue to create an enabling environment for the private-public partnership for social development of the state.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Melutia Ogunremi, said this was the time to boost tourism in the state.
Ogunremi explained that the state had beautiful tourist sites, adding that it was important to let people know of the existence of these sites.
Earlier, the President of the association, Miss Omolola Itayemi, said that the primary aim of the association was to project culture and tourism through adequate and positive reportage.
Itayemi added that the association would collaborate with the state to promote and project its activities to the world.
“We want to push tourism forward. Now is the important time to go back to domestic tourism. No state is as blessed as Ogun in all-round tourism,” she said.
The president commended the state for the annual drum festival in the state, saying it had put the state on the world tourism calendar.
She urged the ministry to create a festival calendar.
According to her, it is important to organise festivals at least monthly or quarterly as it will further make the people fall in love with culture and tourism.
