Experts in the travel and tourism industry have stated that cooperationamong the major stakeholders in the industry is the panacea for growth. Thiswas stated at the recently concluded Tourism Summit which had the theme “Redefining the Rolesof Industry Stakeholders in Shaping the 21st Century TravellersExperience”. The event was put together by Jumia Travel,Nigeria’s leading online travel agency.
Speaking at the event, Ikechi Uko,CEO of Akwaaba International Trade Fair Market said government cannotsingle-handedly develop the multi-billion dollars industry. He therefore made acall to all stakeholders within the industry to collaborate for the country toattain its goal. Similarly, the managing director ofJumia Travel Nigeria, Kushal Dutta spoke on the potentials of the country’stourism. In his remark, he enjoined all the key players in the industry to cometogether and support the government in building the sector. Kushal also pointedout that there are a lot of tourist destinations that people are choosing tospend their holiday in the country. He encouraged Nigerians to travel withinNigeria and explore the amazing tourist attractions in the country. “80% of the travels within Nigeria isto Lagos and people are visiting places like EpeResort, LaCampagne, WhisperingPalms; in Calabar, Obudu Mountain Resort is also a good tourism attractionbut gets seasonal patronage. Outside Nigeria, people visit the likes of Kenya,Mauritius, South Africa, and Zanzibar,” he said. While commenting on the most popularlocations that Nigerians are flying to, the representative of Kenya Airways whowas also on the panel, Abiola Bakare revealed that Nigerians mostly travel toLondon and US, but not necessarily for leisure. He added: “There’s also a majorpreference for destinations in Dubai. However, the problem of the foreignexchange greatly affected the travel and tourism industry”. Also, popular travel blogger andfounder of Social Prefect Tours, Chiamaka Obuekwe mentioned Ikogosi in EkitiState and Olumo Rock in Abeokuta as some of the locations people are looking totravel to. “Ikogosi and Olumo rock have been the major tourist attractionsbecause many want some kind of adventure. South West is beginning to enjoytourism traffic because of the opportunities the region provided.” Chiamaka advised the Nigeriangovernment to do a lot more in promoting tourism and destination sites in thecountry, adding that Zanzibar and South Africa are doing a good job in promotingthe tourism in their countries.