The Nation Newspaper

Category: Travels on Saturday

  • Focus on Nigerian cuisines as SSI Ethnic Night debuts

    To celebrate the positives in Igbo cuisines, a  former governor of Anambra  State, Mr. Peter Obi, and his guests led diners from Igboland and other regions of the country to celebrate a reinvention of authentic Nigerian cuisines in the maiden edition of  themed SSI Ethnic Saturday Night.

    The theme for the maiden edition was Igbo Amaka. The event was at Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    At the event, a number of indigenous Igbo cuisines which hitherto may not have been seen on the dining table of any branded international hotel were on display. Many of the guests, who turned out for the themed dinner in full traditional regalia, were excited by the local culinary offering. There was also an Igbo cultural troupe to  entertain the audience with local music.

    The Executive Chef of the hotel, Stanley Mwangi,  Food and Beverage Team,  said the hotel was researching into Nigerian cuisines  to bring these authentic  local cuisines back to the dining tables of the hotel’s guests.

    He said: “For us to be able to reach a notch higher, we do several trainings. Most of them are actually online. The last training was on innovation and development. As a facilitator on that particular topic, I challenged them that why didn’t we do  region-based cuisines on a Saturday.

    “We brainstormed and then decided to start with  the Igbo Night. Consequently, we are going to the Yoruba Night which is the next one on September 29. After the Yoruba Night, we will have Calabar, South South  and Northerners’ nights.  We are looking at  regional foods in order to bring them to the people, doing actually home style foods.

    “We researched into old Nigerian recipes that people had stopped doing and we were all surprised because we did not think that from one region, we could get a whole buffet, or even more than a buffet. I am sure when we do the next one, we would not do the same food. We will do different foods.

    “It was interesting to realize that from one region people have different foods. What we did from that particular Igbo region was that we took a few dishes from each sub-region and we talked to the old people.

    “We did trials on Sunday and we asked them what we had not done right and in most of the cases, we were almost getting there, but you will still be told one or two things. It was very interesting for us because it was  research that we doing.

    “The class had done very well. We had a meeting every Monday. We started planning this one month ago. Every Monday, we would bring a few people who were in the class  from the region, that is, the Igbo nation, and  brainstormed. That was how we planned it.”

    Asked what informed the decision for the ethnic themed night,  Mwangi said: “We had people who had been asking about some few dishes which we did not understand. We started brainstorming on the fact that we had got clients who were asking.“

    Mwangi said after celebrating the themed nights of different regions of the country on a monthly basis, the hotel would be adding some these authentic local cuisines into the daily menu of the hotels for those who would want to have them.

    “We want to have some of the authentic meals in our menu . We want to be sure that we are able to prepare them authentically. That is the reason why we chose Saturday and Sunday for the trials. So, in most of the cases, you have different authentic meals on Sunday in the brunch and Saturday is when we want to do the themed night.

    “Initially, we wanted to start with once in a month so that we could get some bearing because it was quite some brainstorming and research. We don’t want to just serve the normal common food that everybody gets. So, at the end of the day, we would definitely have an authentic menu for everyday. It is something we are really looking forward to,”he said.

    Mwangi, from Kenya, has been in Nigeria in the last nine years and talked about the culture and local cuisines of the country.

    “Nigeria is very dynamic in food and culture. Through our search, we realized that even though we had been here for quite some time, almost nine years, we realized that there is quite a lot that we’ve not really tried out.

    “It was an eye opener that from the diverse food and culture, we can create several themes almost every other week from different regions. It is very wide. It is a very big book that if you start going through , it would probably take almost half of your life.  It was a real eye opener and it has given us a totally new direction from what we initially though we are getting into.”

  • Turkish Airlines launches partnership with Warner Bros

    Turkish Airlines has launched a new animated safety video, featuring popular characters from The LEGO Movie franchise in surprising new roles.

    The custom-animated safety video for Turkish Airlines was created by the teams who assembled The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO NINJAGO Movie and the highly anticipated sequel The LEGO Movie 2 which is due in cinemas beginning February 2019. In partnership with Warner Bros, the safety video will be shown on all flights and will also debut online.

    The safety video, which is the first LEGO safety video ever made, demonstrates step-by-step safety procedures to passengers in a fun, unique style–complete with sensible airline-approved humour, celebrity cameos and an unforgettable song and dance number.

    Turkish Airlines is proud to have one of the youngest fleets in the world and strives to achieve the best in aviation safety standards.  Whether frequent travellers or first-time fliers, the video aims to inform and entertain passengers, alongside an extensive selection of movies, TV shows, music and games available in different languages on the in-flight entertainment system.

    The safety video will mark the beginning of the biggest partnership guaranteed to entertain and delight, hinting there is much more to come from the Turkish Airlines and LEGO Movie franchise alliance. Leading up to the worldwide release of The LEGO Movie 2, Turkish Airlines will roll-out a global TV campaign film themed Wrapped Airplanes

  • Rwanda: Tourism destination forging ahead

    Rwanda is known as the country of a thousand hills. The country spread out in folds of undulating hills and mountains covered by lush green foliage. It boasts of a very mild weather that is punctured by rain cloud and rains with a very welcoming people.

    Gradually, Rwanda is gathering fans among adventure travellers who are looking for a new experience different from safari that is offered by South Africa, Kenya and the others. The highland gorillas of volcanoes mountains in Ruhengeri, northern Rwanda offers a new thrill and new experience.

    Gorilla trekking is  a new unique offering by Rwanda. There are other sites like the Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali. There are  a thousand and one adventures to explore. Nigerian travellers are now seeing the country as a new travel destination.

    Cecile Mambo, the managing director of CMD Tours, is one of those currently packaging different tours to Rwanda.

    She talked about the adventure and leisure options available in the country:

    “When  we talk about Rwanda, the first thing that comes to mind is the genocide. I had a chat with the Rwandan Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Stanislas, and he was trying to sell Rwanda to me.

    “He was telling me all that they have there. I also had a meeting with the President, Rwandan Residents’ Association in Nigeria  came to us because we are a travel agent. He came to ask and asked why we did not package Rwanda.  I was like apart from the genocide museum, what else? Who wants to go there, I asked. He advised me to try and go there. He said even Ellen deGeneres has been to Rwanda. That made me to be interested in going. I said to myself that if somebody who is based in the United States could go there, I could equally. It means there is something to see. I decided to go.

    “When I got there, I was really amazed by what I saw. It was completed different from my perception. I stayed at Radisson Blu and …. Radisson was the highest of luxury. It was everything beautiful. We started our tour a day after I got there. We went to Lake Kivu in Ribavu Region of the country. When we got there, the resort was amazing. Everything was perfect: they were friendly and well trained and the ambience was superb. They have a  hot spring lake from an active volcano in Congo.

    “According to the indigenes, the spring has medicinal values. “From there, we went to Akagera Park. That place also blew my mind. There were wild animals in there natural habitat: lions, giraffes, antelopes and so on. It was an amazing experience.”

    Kigali, the Rwanda capital, is gradually emerging as Africa’s leading convention destination. It has hosted the African Union summit in 2016 and top corporate conventions. The city has become a go-to in terms of high profile events and conferences. One hotel among others  in the capital that is making  this happen in Kigali is the newly built Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Centre located at the heart of the city. It is a kind of one-stop venue that provides end to end facilities for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

    Denis J. Dernault,  the Complex General Manager talked about what has made Kigali the leading conference venue for Africa: “One of the very important factors here is the ease of doing business which has  been facilitated by the authorities. In addition to that is the fact that every citizen of the world can enter the country without pre-requesting visa.

    “That is one of the key factors for people who are into MICE. That is one of the elements which is very important. The second is that as a businessman when you travel, it is important as well to ensure that the destination that you are going to is secure. This is another area that Rwanda is doing very well.

    “The third factor is that we have an airport which is going to be opened shortly, in about a year and half. So, it is to ensure that air connectivity is there and benefits the most potential market. That is very interesting , it ensures that the venue we have here,   the Radisson Blu and Convention Centre, Kigali are having the best benefits from these factors.”

    He talked about the conference facilities available in Radisson Blu Kigali that made it a hit: “ I think the first one is quality. We have been tested; we’ve had  high profile events and we know we can deliver. For those in this type of business know that in Rwanda, whatever you are doing, you will have these quality factors, responding to your occasion.

    “The second thing is that we have a facility which is highly flexible. We have the facilities to organize from small to large events. These are some of the things I believe give us an edge. Also, with the number of meeting rooms that we have, the number of exhibition spaces that we have. These give us the flexibility to organize any kind of event.

    “Adding to that, we have, in terms of technology, very little that the convention centre can offer in terms of internet by fibre, that we can’t offer here. We have a facility that can cater for over 20,000 devices at the same. So, that is very important in the connected world that we are today. Here, there is a focus on the new technology. That puts us really at a place where an organization that if they want a meeting which are highly connected…as we have done before, if we refer to the Montreal Protocol, which was a paperless meeting. We can deliver on all these.”

    For all kinds of tourists, Rwanda is gradually the preferred destination.

  • Ethiopian Airlines begins flight to Asmara

    Ethiopian Airlines, has announce that it has finalized preparations to resume daily flights to Asmara, Eritrea on 17 July 2018 with the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft, the Boeing 787. This follows agreements reached in Asmara between Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of t DeRepublic of Ethiopia and President H.E. Isaias Afewerki of the State of Eritrea.

    Regarding the resumption of flights to Eritrea’s capital, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam said: “We at Ethiopian feel an immense honor and joy to resume scheduled flights to Asmara after 20 years, following the visit to Eritrea by H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. With the opening of a new chapter of peace and friendship between the two sisterly countries, we look forward to starting flights to Asmara with the B787, the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft, which gives customers unparalleled on-board comfort.

    The resumption of air links will play a critical role in boosting the overall political, economic, trade and people-to-people ties between the two sisterly countries. Thanks to Ethiopian extensive network of more than 114 international destinations in 5 continents, our flights to Asmara will avail best connectivity options to the vast Eritrean Diaspora Community across the world and will boost the flow of investment, trade and tourism into Eritrea.

    Very quickly, we plan to operate multiple daily service and to start cargo flights in view of the huge market potential between the two sisterly countries.”

  • Accra Weizo expands travel frontiers in West Africa

    • Lagos shines at fair

    The annual West African Travel Fair, Accra Weizo, started in a subdued manner four years ago. The focus of the fair is”Seamless Travel in West Africa.”  However, within the last three years, it has consolidated to become not only the leading annual tourism stakeholders’ event in Ghana, it has created a platform for West African travel industry practitioners  cutting across tourism and aviation.

    The 2018 edition held at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra  has become a kind of watershed for the fair and succeeded in getting key industry practitioners in the industry to attend, but also making meaning breakthrough that would in the years to come impact positively on every aspect of travels in the sub region.

    This year had in attendance eight countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Benin and United Arab Emirates (UAE).  Lagos and Cross River states were also in attendance to promote  their states.

    The tourism segment discussion session was focused on the relevance of social media influencers and travel writers on destination marketing in West Africa, while the aviation segment focused on the issue of interlining among West African carriers. West African airlines AWA and Aero Contractors agreed to explore the possibility of interlining, a voluntary commercial agreement among airlines that allow the airlines involved to handle passengers travelling to multiple destinations to change from one airline to another.

    The fair was livened by performances by Carnival Calabar dancers and the Ghanaian dance troupe.

    For the initiator of the fair, Mr. Ikechi Uko,  this year’s event was key for the survival and growth of the festival: “To me, the high point of this year’s Weizo is that we have a buy-in from the Ghanaian people. In the first two years there was this idea that somebody was coming to  do something here. And so, everybody was cautious. In the second year, most of our partners who had originally agreed with us didn’t even turn up, some travelled out of town.

    “In the third year, that was last year, we had the first participation in some numbers, but this year, we had a buy-in by hem because we had shown to them our capacity to deliver on promise. You heard the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) say, ‘look, next year, leave Ghana to us, just do your own which is mobilize the non-Ghanaians, put together the content, the panels…they also wanted venue, but we said no, we want to control our venue. So, they will take care of the FAM-trip and  provide local participation. I should tell them the number I want: 200, 300 or 500 and they will provide it. That is the buy in that was missing.

    “For us, our strategic plan says that by the fifth year, we would have tried all forms and knows what works in the market.  We are pioneers, nobody has done it in this market. So, we spent four years on what to do that will work. We wanted to find out how comes it has never worked here? What is wrong with the system? It is the product, model or is it the people? So, after four years of experimenting, we think we understand the product; we understand the people; we know the model to use. We are happy that the buy in is coming just when we have finished our own preparation and experimentation.”

    Also, the new push to position Lagos as the Tourism hub of West Africa and the Entertainment Capital of Africa was put on display in Ghana. Lagos State mounted an exhibition along with 20 other firms at the two-day event. A well-attended travel event was supported by the Ghana Tourism Authority.

    Lagos was represented by Mr. Babatunde Anann and Mrs. Adanma Oni, both directors at the Ministry of Tourism. The Lagos Tourism Video was played on the screen for most parts of the first day of the expo during breaks. The second day of the event was dedicated to tourism as both Lagos and Ghana Tourism Authority used the day to showcase their Tourism Assets. Earlier the Carnival Calabar Dancers and the Ghanaian Carnival queens performed for the two days of the event.

    Mr. Anann, in his presentation, told the audience about the changes the new administration has brought about in Lagos. Mrs. Oni invited them to visit Lagos and to participate in the One Lagos Festival in December. Lagos becomes the second Nigerian state to market its tourism abroad after Cross River State and its Carnival Calabar.

    Introducing Lagos State at the event, Mr. Ikechi Uko, the organiser of Accra Weizo said” Lagos is the place to go for shopping and partying. Fashion and religion are strong draws for one of Africa’s most exciting cities. With over 10 daily flights by AWA, Arik, Air Peace, ASKY, Rwandair and Air Namibia, 50 minutes at most you are home to fun in Lagos. Lagos is tapping into the desire of Africans to know Lagos. Ghana, Kenya and South Africa are the lowest hanging tourism fruits for Lagos. Outside UK and the Diasporan Market in the USA, Ghana is the best place to market ”  Ghana Tourism Authority hosted the guests to Ghanaian food and drinks.

    Earlier on in the week the 42 tour operators and media from outside Ghana were taken on a tour of Volta and Eastern Region of Ghana. For three days, they were taken to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and the Akosombo Dam. After a day at Ho, they went down to Akosombo town for a night before leaving for Accra. Members of the team spent 3 days touring the 2 regions before joining others in Accra. 75 foreign delegates participated in the 2 day expo and were joined by over 200 Ghanaian Travel professionals.

    In his speech at the event the Acting CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) Mr Akwesi Agyeman praised Lagos for Joining the Weizo family. He promised that Ghana will sign a long time MOU with the organisers to draw in More Ghanaians to attend Accra Weizo. He congratulated the organisers for Sustaining the event for 4 years. Ghana he says will be in Lagos for Akwaaba African Travel market in September.

  • Tourism association holds annual meeting

    The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) has confirmed that preparations are in top gear for its 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) which has been scheduled to hold on Wednesday, July 11 at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

    Speaking on this development, the President of FTAN, Alhaji Rabo Saleh, disclosed that the AGM Planning Committee is working on having a very successful and colourful AGM that is focused on strengthening the federation and consolidating on its gains over the years as well as on Nigerian tourism development and promotion.

    The non – elective AGM, he said, will be attended by all the federating associations and stakeholders from across the country and government officials with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, billed to deliver the keynote address.

    The theme for the one-day event, which is holding at Kapital Club and Apartments in Asokoro, is: Developing sustainable tourism through standardization and security, with papers to be presented by the Director General of the Directorate of State Security (DSS) and a director from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    Also expected are the director-generals and management teams of the various parastatals under the Ministry of Information and Culture and other MDAs, which include those of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and National Institute for Tourism and Hospitality (NIHOTOUR).

    One of the special features of the AGM is the presentation of the highest award and honour – Father of Nigeria Tourism — to Alabo Mike Amachree, who is the founder of Brooklyn Hotels and Port Harcourt Beach Resort among others. Cultural and musical entertainments will also feature alongside the business of day.

  • Tourism contributes 34 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, says Statistician-General

    Statistician-General of the Federation and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale, has said tourism in Nigeria contributes 34 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Kale said this in his address at the recently concluded 61th United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Commission for Africa (UNWTO-CAF) meeting that was held last week in Abuja.

    The Statistician-General said: “With respect to the direct impact of tourism on  the GDP, the economic activities that make up what we may call the tourism characteristic sectors, including art, entertainment and recreation, trade, transport, accommodation and food services, administrative, support and other services account for 34 per cent  of the GDP in 2017 and about 20 per cent of employment even though as you know not all of that 34 per cent and 20 per cent  GDP and employment contribution will be related directly to tourism activities.

    “Nevertheless, this shows you the immense potential of tourism activities in Nigeria, a $500 bn economy with about 70 per cent of that household consumption expenditure.

    “For households, particularly within rural regions, tourism can also prove to be a much-needed source of additional income.  Indeed, the tourism sector encompasses and affects several sub-sectors across the nation’s key output sectors.

    “Apart from these economic benefits that I have briefly mentioned, tourism activities also reinforce cultural pride, the preservation of our unique heritage and traditions, as well as the conservation of our environment. It is perhaps because of this far-reaching impact on all groups of society, that tourism is mentioned specifically within both the Sustainable Development Goals and the wider Agenda 2030.”

    Kale noted that the recent economic downturn in the nation’s economy had a negative impact on both domestic and international travel last year.

    His words: “The recent economic downturn presented a challenging time for tourism in Nigeria. As you know, leisure travel relies on people having discretionary income, and with many of our key markets feeling the effects of the economic recession and with household expenditure budgets squeezed, it has affected the growth in tourism characteristic sectors.  For example, annual total numbers of domestic and international air passengers declined by -8.40 per cent  and -7.13 per cent  in 2017 respectively compared with the previous year

    ”The recent economic conditions have, therefore, had a negative impact on local tourism operators. Operators have had to make hard decisions about how to position their business to ride out the storm. But I have been amazed to see just how resilient tourism related economic activities are in Nigeria.

    “Arts, entertainment and recreation and administrative support and other services activities, for example, were among the few activities that were able to keep growing for most of the recession period. Other recent data I have received shows that many tourism related activities have made necessary adjustments to weather out these difficult times.”

    The Statistician-General harped on the need for tourism statistics as it is a tool in tracking development goals, measuring progress, and improving the efficacy of policy interventions. Tourism statistics, he said, is  critical in providing the sector with the best foundation to base its decisions on and commended the UNWTO  for  spearheading  the mandate to develop a robust tourism data framework, the measuring sustainable tourism framework which moves beyond tourism statistics as just an economic tool to a holistic approach which considers the social and environmental impacts as well.

    He itemized  some the challenges of producing tourism statistics in Nigeria which include:  the high level of informality of the tourism characteristic activities with about 60 per cent  of them informal in nature; the poor attitude towards record keeping; inadequate funding and weak coordination among tourism statistics related agencies and business.

  • Travelscope Youth Tourism Forum holds next month in Ibadan

    In a bid to engage and encourage youth tourism in Nigeria, the next edition of the annual Travelscope Youth Tourism & Hospitality Leaders Forum (YTHLF) is scheduled to hold on July 5. 2018 at Banquet Hall, Jogor Centre, Ibadan.

    In a release, the convener and Managing Editor, Travelscope Magazine, Omololu Olumuyiwa disclosed that the primary objective of the annual event is to educate, motivate and promote the travel, tourism and hospitality sector with its social, cultural and economy values among the aspiring youths and stakeholders.

    Olumuyiwa stated further “This year’s edition of the annual YTHLF will rally participants from all walks of life to a day of tourism education”.

    The keynote speaker is the Vice President – Africa, Continent Hotel, Dr Wasiu Babalola and the guest speaker is the Head of Department ( HOD), Tourism and Hospitality Department, Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Dr (Mrs) Feyi Obateru.

    “YTHLF in its tenth year is expected to improve on the contents of the platform not only to reawaken youths to the plethora of opportunities in the tourism sector, but also to educate and link them up with stakeholders for gainful employment in different fields”, Olumuyiwa disclosed.

    Some of the beneficiaries of the aviation college scholarships who has successfully completed their programmes shall be decorated and presented with their certificates by the Director of studies, Stay Up Aviation Institute of Technology, Mr Kenneth Oudah.

    He stated further that notable scholar,  icon, journalist and youths who have contributed to tourism growth, passionate about tourism advancement will be given an awards.

  • Ghana tourism body hosts Nigerian delegates

    The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) will host delegates for this year’s Accra Weizo Fair holding on June 22 and  23  at La Palm Royale Beach Hotel.

    This was revealed  by the head  of the GTA, Mr. Akwesi Agyeman, and Mr. Ikechi Uko of Akwaaba African Travel Market at the Office of the GTA.

    The authority will host the delegates to a 3 – day familiarization tour of Ghana from 19 to 21 June, 2018. Delegates for the fair will be coming from Nigeria and seven  other nations in East, West and Southern Africa.

    The delegates will take a tour of the Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta Regions of Ghana. The tour programme drawn for them is in tandem with the GTA’s domestic tourism campaign of eat, feel, see and wear Ghana. Experiences during the tour will include quad biking, boat cruises, kayaking, bon fire, tropical rain forest trail, night life, others.

    In the greater Accra region, the delegates will tour the Shai Hills Resource Reserve on 19th June, 2018. The reserve has a varied package of wildlife, archaeological sites, caves and granite hills. They will experience activities such as nature walk (hiking), gaming, bird watching, exploration of caves, etc.

    In the Volta Region, the delegation will visit the Amedzofe Eco-Tourism Community and Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. They will have a dinner at Chances Hotel and enjoy nightlife. Delegates will arrive in the Eastern Region on June, 20 to take a tour of the Akosombo Dam Site, after which they will have lunch at Royal Senchi Resort. They will then enjoy a boat cruise on the Volta Lake.

  • 2018 Balafon awards for Calabar Carnival, Air Peace, Kempinski, others

    The winners of the 9th edition of the Balafon Award have emerged. Balafon Award of excellence is an annual award organised to recognise pioneers and best players in tourism in the ECOWAS region.

    The winners are selected via a select poll among practitioners and ratified by a board made of specialists in the media.

    The categories of the award and the winners are: Travel Personality of the Year in West Africa was won by Stella Fubara, Director, Africa Dubai Tourism;  Tourism Man of the Year in West Africa , Mrs. Uloma Egbuna, Managing Director, Tour Brokers International Nigeria.

    Others are  Aviation Man of the Year in West Africa was won by Captain Ado Sanusi, Managing Director, Aero; Hotel Personality of the Year in West Africa,  Malah Saleh  of Gambia; Best Airline in West Africa, Air Peace;   Best Hotel in West Africa-Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel, Accra, Ghana;  Best Airport in West Africa – Dakar International Airport Senegal;  Best Ground Handling Company in West Africa, Aviance;  Best Tourism Marketing Award West Africa – Ghana;  Tourism Event of the Year West Africa – Carnival Calabar;  Aviation Minister of the Year West Africa-Cecilia Dappah, Minister of Aviation, Ghana;  Tourism Minister of the Year in West Africa-,  Mrs  Catherine  Afeku, Minister of Tourism ,Culture and Creative Arts.

    The presentation of the award plagues will be at the 2018 Accra Weizo billed to start next week.

    Also, the organisers of Weizo have  announced the launch of a West African Travel and Tourism Association (WATTA), a  platform for the growth of seamless travel in the West African sub-region.  The interim board of WATTA will be announced and inaugurated at Accra Weizo on June 23 at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra.

    Accra Weizo is one of the events geared towards getting West Africans to cooperate amongst themselves. West Africa is home to 15 countries of over 380 million people, but tourism and travel are not the strong suite of the economic interaction in the region.

    The region receives, among the lowest tourism figures per capita in Africa.

    With a huge Population and over 40 Airports Aviation is dominated by Companies from outside the Region Accra Weizo is a Travel event now in its 4th edition aimed at creating a seamless travel environment in West Africa. It brings together Travel professional in West Africa.

    Confirmed panellists for that session are Capt. Ado Sanusi –Managing Director of Nigeria’s oldest Airline Aero owners of the major MRO in the region, Chike Ogeah the Vice Chairman  SAHCOL a leading Nigerian Owned Aviation handling and Logistics company,  Alex Nwuba, CEO of Ghana based Smile Aviation and former CEO of Nigerian based Associated Airlines, Richard Kyereh from  Africa World Airlines the leading Airline in Ghana. Other Airlines Chief Executives are expected to join the panel.