Stakeholders in the Nigerian Travel and Tourism Industry have been tasked to explore opportunities in the diaspora market as a way of attracting more inbound tourist into the country. Speaking at the 5th Annual general meeting of the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators which came up over the weekend in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, special guest of honor, former Minister of Tourism, Republic of Ghana, Catherine Afeku, urged participants at the event on the need to explore Tourism events that welcome home descendants of lost relatives taken away during the slave trade.
at the just concluded NATOP Conference.
‘’People of African descent across the globe are in the millions and they can be tourists in Europe and Asia but coming to Africa should be packaged differently. They are coming home, make them feel that genuine sense of belonging and welcome, that will get you the repeat business and beyond.’’
Highlights of the event focused on the theme ‘Restarting Tourism in Nigeria: A New Template. It provided participants the opportunity to discuss way forward for development of the Nigerian Tourism Industry especially as the Industry not only grapples with the challenges of global recovery following the Covid – 19 Pandemic but as well challenges that have stunted the growth of the industry over the years.
Mrs. Afeku while speaking, emphasized on the need to engage the Diaspora Communities in key source markets such as the Caribbean Islands, United Kingdom, Latin America and the USA.
‘’During our familiarization tours under the auspices of the Tourism Ministry of Ghana, we discovered more relatives with very similar cultural habits, mannerisms and cuisines that were definitely West African, more Ghanaian and Nigerian than any other country in West Africa.’’
According to her, operators must be deliberate in their efforts and as such must make no little effort in linking the Bridge of ‘No Return to the narrative’ to their tour packages. A feature which stands as a reminder that many were taken away 400 years ago from the spot which features in similar slave sites as monuments of the slave routes urging Operators to ensure they are not treated as Tourists and at the same time placing emphasis on ‘Home’ coming.
She also emphasized the need for Operators in the tourism sector to lobby for tourism incentives from the government as well as promote more of local contents, showing the country to the world through technology.”
Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom born International Businessman with a passion for Tourism Mr. Akanimo Udofia who was also guest speak at the event highlighted the opportunities in Akwa Ibom state as a Tourism destination emphasizing the need to leverage on the Religious, Medical and Technology Tourism potentials as a Nation.
He explained that players in the sector needed to do more to showcase the tourism potential of the country, maintaining that if well-harnessed; tourism is indeed has the potential of becoming the Nation’s next ‘Oil and Gas’.
‘’We have demonstrated the capacity to build and will continue to expand the frontiers of quality healthcare such that Nigerians and Foreigners will troop to our state via medical tourism, religious Tourism and food tourism, to enjoy the ambiance of exquisite nutritional cuisines while patronizing our world class health institutions.’’
Meanwhile, Minister for Communication, Arts and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed who was represented by one of the Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry, lauded NATOP for propagating the course of domestic tourism in Nigeria while urging Operators to embrace new strategies and innovation in technology for survival in the new normal.
According to him, Operators should be willing to explore digital tourism by considering options that infuse Nigerian content and innovative packages in these technology that provide digital experiences calling on private organizations to partner with the Federal Government to grow the sector.
“All the tourism attractions we have in the country have the potential to grow the economy, increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP), create employment, peace and unity of the country.”
President, Nigerian Association of Tour Operators Hajia Bilkisu Abdul also urged participants at the event to position their businesses in view of changing trends especially in technology and innovations.
Meanwhile, Organizer, Akwaaba African Travel Market and prominent personality in the Nation’s tourism Landscape Mr. Ikechi Uko, in his presentation, mentioned leisure, religion, visiting friends and relatives, trade and business as some of the major drivers of international outbound travel and tourism in the country. According to him, statistics indicate that at least 559,430 passengers travelled out of Nigeria in 2019 to various countries.
‘’29 per cent of these travelers went to Dubai, while others travelled to London, Jeddah, Guangzhou, Medina, Johannesburg, New York, Istanbul, Addis-Ababa, Houston, Delhi, Nairobi, Beirut, Toronto and Abu Dhabi. Middle East attracted 43 per cent, Europe; 27 per cent, Africa; 10.2 per cent, Americas; 10 per cent, while Asia attracted 9 per cent in the year under review and 60 per cent of the total travellers were for leisure/shopping.
‘Nigeria has the blueprint for developing tourism by using the identified boosters.’’
Also present at the event were the representatives of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) and other stakeholders in the Travel Industry.
