Last week, the Government of Oyo State formally inaugurated the Organising Committee for the International Tourism Summit Oyo State 2026 (ITSOyoState 2026) and the 25-Year Tourism Master Plan Committee, marking a significant step in the State’s transition towards a structured and long-term approach to tourism development.
The inauguration underscores the State’s commitment to positioning tourism as a coordinated economic sector driven by policy, planning, and institutional alignment, rather than isolated projects or events.
At the core of the initiative is the recognition that tourism development is not a single-sector activity, but one that requires alignment across multiple arms of government and sustained collaboration with the private sector.
To support this, the Organising Committee has constituted an Interministerial Committee to provide institutional backing to the work of the 25-Year Tourism Master Plan Committee.
The Interministerial Committee includes representation from:
• Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
• Water Corporation of Oyo State
• Ministry of Works and Transport
• Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development
• Office of the Surveyor General
• Ministry of Justice
This structure ensures that the development of the Master Plan is anchored in practical realities such as land use, environmental sustainability, infrastructure planning, and regulatory alignment.
Also, the 25-Year Tourism Master Plan Committee has been designed as a governance and oversight body, responsible for shaping the strategic direction and ensuring alignment across stakeholders.
The Committee is designed to:
• Coordinate inputs from multiple sectors
• Guide the direction of the Master Plan
• Ensure continuity beyond individual tenures
As part of its work, a Technical Committee will be constituted as a subset of the Master Plan Committee.
This Technical Committee will be responsible for:
• Detailed research and data collation
• Spatial and economic modelling
• Drafting of the Tourism Master Plan document
• Translating strategic direction into implementable frameworks
This layered approach allows the Master Plan process to combine:
• Strategic oversight at the committee level, and
• Technical depth at the drafting level
The committees will play a central role in the development and presentation of the Tourism Master Plan Framework, which will be introduced and stress-tested during the International Tourism Summit Oyo State 2026, scheduled to hold from 12th to 14th May 2026.
Opportunities for engagement with the committee will be provided through:
• Technical working sessions
• Stakeholder consultations
• Industry inputs during the ITSOyoState 2026 Summit
The summit will bring together stakeholders across government, private sector, and the global tourism ecosystem to engage with the emerging framework and contribute to shaping its final direction.
By establishing a governance-led process supported by technical expertise and interministerial collaboration, Oyo State is laying the foundation for a tourism sector that is coordinated, investable, and sustainable over time.
Signed
Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Special Adviser (Media) to Oyo State Governor
April 19, 2026
