FG proposes dedication of 1% airlines’ fares to fund tourism

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has advocated the dedication of 1 percent of passenger fare of international airliners to fund the tourism sector in Nigeria.

Mohammed told the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism that other countries around the world were already implementing the 1 percent charge.

He said such money if dedicated to the tourism sector would stem capital flights, as more Nigerian would visit tourism sites in Nigeria rather than travelling abroad.

“Most countries charge airlines operating in the country and bringing people into the country, a percentage of the fare for the tourism development fund.

“This is not done here in Nigeria; we need to charge airlines like Lufthansa, Delta, British Airways, Air France and others.

“If all the airlines that come to Nigeria can devote just one per cent of their passengers’ fare to tourism development, it would assist us in developing facilities to boost tourism across the country.

“We will be coming to the senate very soon to see how this can be drafted into a law that will make it mandatory on all airlines coming in,” he said.