The president and founder of Sailors’ Lounge in Lagos has appealed to the federal and state governments to provide grants and allocate a specific budget for the hospitality industry.

The founder, Eyitayo Fakehinde, made the appeal on Saturday during an interview.

Mr Fakehinde said the government should allocate a specific budget for the industry and provide grants, subsidies, or low-interest loans to businesses in the sector.

He added that the funding could be used for infrastructure development, marketing campaigns, training programmes, and other initiatives to boost the industry.

“The government can make low-interest loans available to people within the industry and improve power supply. We see the concessions the oil and gas industry and exporters are getting, but the hospitality industry is not encouraged in any way.

“In fact, I believe the tourism sector is under attack as we have too many fees and taxes to pay. With the increased price of raw materials, growing inflation, increased price of petrol and diesel, increased light cost etc, it is becoming more difficult to run any business within this space,” Mr Fakehinde explained.

He, however, urged the government to encourage business owners in the industry and noted that the business owners in the hospitality industry had contributed positively to society. 

The lounge started in 2012 and was revamped in November 2023 after 11 years.

(NAN)