Akwa Ibom government has unveiled a 9-point guideline for the reopening of hotels and tourism centres in the state.
Orman Esin, commissioner for culture and tourism said in Uyo that the guidelines would help to ease the five-month lockdown in the state following the outbreak of coronavirus outbreak.
Esin who recounted the importance of hotels and tourism in the economy explained that the government will not tolerate any hotel or tourist business operator violating the guidelines in the state.
He said it was necessary to reopen the state for economic activities as Akwa Ibom recorded the least number of COVID-19 casualties.
” Let me, first of all, thank the state government for effective management of Covid19 in the state. It is important for us to note that the time that we are living where the covid19 pandemic is ravaging the world. It is also the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens .”
Unveiling the 9-point guideline for operators of hotels and tourist centres in the state, Esin listed the guidelines as hand washing, fumigation of hotels premises with recommended chemicals, social distancing, provision of isolation rooms in hotels, checking of body temperature, and training of staff on the handling of Covid19 related issues among others.
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“We are not using these guidelines to generate revenue but any hotelier or tourist business operator who violates these guidelines would not be tolerated.” he earned.
The commissioner of information Mr. Ini Ememobong who was represented by Director of Information in the Ministry, James Edet lauded governor Udom Emmanuel for providing the laboratory for testing of coronavirus in the state as certified by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) during an inspection in the state.
He charged the Ministry of Information to enlighten the people including rural dwellers on how to manage the pandemic as hotels reopen for business in the state.
The Chairman, Akwa Ibom Hotel Management, and Tourism Board Ini Akpabio urged hoteliers to adhere strictly to the guidelines provided as a monitoring team set up by the government has the mandate to penalize offenders.
“It is our duty to ensure that the hospitality business in the state is carried out according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards best practices. ”
Though most hotels in the state had reopened since the lockdown was eased in July, bookings had drastically reduced due to poor patronage according to industry sources.
