BACKGROUND

Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism was created by Governor Lucky Igbinedion in 1999. The Ministry became operational in January 2000 with the appointment of Honourable Commissioner, Permanent Secretary and other principal Officers.

The Department of Arts and Culture was severed from the then Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, while the Tourism department was severed from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. Basically, the responsibilities of the Ministry are to preserve, protect, project and promote the State's Cultural Heritage; develop and project the tourist potentials of the State to become the foremost tourist destination in Nigeria.

The Ministry has Five (5) departments, namely; Administration and Supply, Finance and Accounts, Culture, Tourism and Planning Research and Statistic (PRS). Parastals under the Ministry are the Edo State Council for Arts and Culture, and the Edo State Tourism Board. All the departments are headed by directors.
Ministry of Art, Culture and Tourism is saddled with the following responsibilities:

Development and Promotion of Arts and Crafts;
Cultural Issues;
Antiquities;
Decoration of cities and towns;
Development and promotion of Tourism;
Provision and improvement of tourism amenities and facilities in the State;
To register, classify and grade all hospitality and tourism enterprises, travel agencies and tour operators;
To assist in the development of:
Museums and historic sites;
Parks;
Game reserves;
Beaches;
Natural beauty spots;
Holiday resorts;
Souvenir Industries.
Supervision of the Council for Arts and Culture;
Supervision of the State Tourism Board.