Ahead of the 2025 celebration of St. Valentine Day, a days popularly designated in some parts of the world for celebration of love, the Oyo State government has disclosed that 12,128 hospitality ventures have been registered.
Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the state, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, who disclosed this during a press conference at the Eleyele Waterfront in Ibadan, said this was to endure proper monitoring and coordinating of activities during the celebration.
Olatunbosun said those registered including hotels, night clubs, event centers, eateries/restaurants and tour operators rose from 1,328 in December 2019 to 12,128 in 2025.
He maintained that the rise was achieved due to the conducive and enabling environment created for investors by the administration of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde.
According to the commissioner, the second term of Governor Makinde has seen the state recording an influx of tourists, with about 18,152 tourists daily coming to the state as against 1,604 recorded before the administration.
Speaking on the programme tagged: ‘Valentine Cruise,’ scheduled to hold on Friday, 14th February, 2025, Olatunbosun said the event would promote peace, love, friendship, admiration and tolerance among residents and visitors in the state and also promote aquatic tourism, create employment opportunities as well as boost the income and economy of the state.
“Every 14th February is observed globally as Valentine’s Day with the purpose of celebrating love, friendship and admiration.
“The Oyo State Government has concluded all arrangements to join the rest of the world in the celebration of this year’s Valentine’s Day in an elaborate form.”
While appreciating the people’s support for the Oyo State Government towards tourism promotion and peaceful coexistence, Olatunbosun invited residents to the “first-ever Ibadan Valentine Cruise.”
He said Governor Makinde has succeeded in promoting the atmosphere for tourism to thrive. “Before we came in, the total number of hotels we had in Oyo State was 945. I am happy to tell you that the current figure of registered hotels is 4,678 though we still have other ones that are not yet registered.
“This means that between 2019 and December 2024, we succeeded in having 3,733 hotels registered in Oyo State. That is a 395 per cent increase.
“We had 78 night clubs when we came in but we now have 1,898, that is a difference of 1,820. This means between 2019 and now, the registered night clubs in Oyo State is 1,820 which constitutes 2,333 per cent increase.
“Also, in the hospitality business, the Event Centres we had before we came in were 143. As I am talking to you, we have registered 1,996 Event Centres; a difference of 1,853.
“The number of eateries has risen to 1,852 from 62. When you add everything together, the total number of hospitality ventures that we met on the ground in 2019 was 1,328. Currently, we have 12,128 hospitality ventures registered in Oyo State.
“That is an increment of 10,800, which means between 2019 and now, the governor has created an environment for hospitality business to thrive, which has brought 10,800 hospitality ventures into Oyo State.”
On tourist centres and others, Olatunbosun said the total number of tourists that visited Oyo State on a daily basis in 2019 was 1,604 but by increased in December 2024 to 18,452.
He added that tourism cannot thrive without security, infrastructure and the political will. “So, we have been able to record huge successes in tourism development because of these three factors. The governor has really done well for the state in the area of tourism and hospitality.”
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Entertainment Cruise, Dr Sanni Bamidele lauded Governor Makinde’s efforts in developing and promoting culture and tourism in the state.
He added that the company collaborates with the state government to boost tourism in view of various tourist attractions sites in the state.
Bamidele assured participants of adequate security and availability of safety equipment in the course of the Valentine’s Day celebration.
