Eko Hotels @50: Africa Legacy Summit Day 1 Opens With Focus On Culture, Tourism & Hospitality Growth

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[00:00:01][music] >> Day one of the Africa Legacy Summit opens with thought leaders, policy makers, and tourism operators charting the course for the future of culture in African hospitality, TOURISM, AND TRAVEL.

[00:00:17]>> [laughter] >> CULTURAL RHYTHMS SET THE TONE FOR THE high-stakes two-day summit hosted by the Eko Hotel and Suites as it commemorates 50 years in the tourism and hospitality sector.

[00:00:37]In his opening address, the chairman of the board of Eko Hotels Limited, Christopher Chagoury, says the company [music] seeks to reimagine a future where culture, tourism, and hospitality become a powerful blend of experience, identity, and economic growth.

[00:00:53]>> here to build a future where hospitality is not only about accommodation, but about experience.

[00:01:03]Where tourism is not merely movement, but identity.

[00:01:09]And where culture is not performance alone, but economic power.

[00:01:15]Because when culture becomes infrastructure, transformation follows.

[00:01:20]Adding his voice to the discourse, the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says for five decades, Eko Hotel and Suites has played a significant role in shaping the state's hospitality landscape.

[00:01:34]50 years is a long time in the life of any institution.

[00:01:38]For Eko Hotel and Suites, it also had been five decades of presence at the very heart of Lagos' transformation.

[00:01:48]This premises, this old arena, has been the first impression of Lagos and often the the impression of our country.

[00:01:57]Attention then shifts to panel discussions and keynote addresses, all dissecting the need to position African culture and tourism as a major economic driver on the continent. If we are to fully unlock the potential of tourism in Africa, there has to be alignment between government, operators, airlines, and the creative economy. We must not romanticize culture, but we must see culture as something that is to be celebrated and that is capable of being monetized in order to create opportunities for our young men and women.

[00:02:39]As Accor Hotel and Suites celebrates 50 impactful years in hospitality management, it says conversations like these are crucial to strengthening Africa's position in the global tourism market.