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…wins best Holiday Resort in Nigeria
From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The General Manager of Glocient Hospitality limited ,owners of the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts in Ekiti state, Mr Lanre Balogun has said that the Nigeria Hospitality industry is yet to be fully tapped and that it holds huge potentials for attracting direct foreign investment.
He also said that investment in the hospitality sector will stem the tide of the “JAPA” syndrome amongst the youths of the country who are fleeing abroad to seek for green pastures.
Mr Balogun who stated this after Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts won the award for the Best Holiday Resorts in Nigeria held at the weekend in Owerri , the Imo state capital .
He said: ” The Hospitality sector in Nigeria is the most lucrative in the world and we have not even tapped 30 percent of it . What we need to make it more viable is power. We took over Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts barely six months ago but before this time the place was a dead zone but we have turned it around. It was concessioned to Glocient limited by the Ekiti state government for certain years . The award is simply a recognition of what we have already done with Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts and we are going to replicate it “.
He added , “we invested hugely in the resort which has today attracted tourists from as far as Russia , US , UK and many others because it is only in Nigeria we have a warm and Cold springs from the same source on this planet earth . So, it a natural phenomenon that does not exist anywhere else in this world. Today we have improved the economy of not only the locals but also improve the internally generated revenue of the state. ”
Mr Balogun also disclosed that the Glocient limited is also expanding its operations to Abuja, Lagos and two others in Ekiti that would developed shortly.
“So , don’t take that money abroad, bring it here and invest in this sector as it will create more value , more impact, create jobs for our youths and improves the economy of Nigeria and that is what we have done by investing in Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts “. He submitted.
Earlier , the Convener of the Hotels Managers Conference and Awards, Mr Olugbenga Sunday said that the awards bestowed on the hotels are coming from the real practitioners who are themselves involved in the management of hotels across the country.
” Today’s awards is coming from the real practitioners who knows in and out of the Hotel management . The process for the awards started from the nomination from each of the categories and the public have to vote on each . We had over 4,000 votes which were subjected to a thorough scrutiny by the practitioners . So , I congratulate all the winners this night because they are deserving of their awards “.
