The Nation Newspaper

Category: Travels on Saturday

  • NCPC launches Win-a-Trip to Israel in Taraba

    The Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) has launched the “Win a Trip to Israel” promo in Taraba State.

    Governor Ishaku Dairus, who launched the raffle draw, commended the Executive Secretary of the NCPC, John Kennedy Opara, for his visionary leadership style and the innovations he has brought to bear on the commission.

    The governor further said the “Win a Trip to Israel” was a laudable programme as it would help government to withdraw from sponsorship of intending pilgrims.

    Governor Dairus affirmed that he would try as much as possible to encourage Christians to go on pilgrimage, adding that the benefits of pilgrimage are enormous.

    In his words: “I was really blessed during the 2015 A Day with Jesus in Israel”.

    He paid for 16,000 tickets for the 16 local government areas of the state. According to him, “each local government would share 1,000 tickets to enable those who cannot afford the cost of pilgrimage to Israel to benefit from the draw”.

    The governor promised to sponsor 100 youths to participate in the commission’s youth pilgrimage to enable the youths in Taraba State benefit from the Skill Acquisition Programme.

    According to him, “I know the youths will learn skills that will make them independent”.

    Opara, in his remark, stressed that the idea of the “Win a Trip to Israel” was born out of the need to afford many Christians the opportunity to embark on the pilgrimage to Israel in view of the economic situation of the country at no cost to the state or federal government.

    The two lucky winners that emerged in the “Win a Trip to Israel” raffle draw were Miss Sapdira Bem and Mr. Woburi Ezekiel.

    The promo in Taraba State was powered by  Fortune Game Nigeria Limited, the NCPC,  National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

  • Delta Tourism Expo holds July 12

    Delta State Tourism Board (DSTB), which is charged with the development, promotion and marketing of the state tourism industry, has stepped up preparation for its tourism expo for this year, which is tagged Delta Tourism Exposition 2016 with the theme, fascinating Delta, rich tourism, great people and is billed to hold at Asaba Convention Centre, Asaba between July 12 and 14.

    Speaking on the event, the General Manager of DSTB, Ms Josephine Anyameluhor, said that the expo is meant to promote and market the different tourism offerings of the state to the world as it is opened to all travel and tourism trade operators, buyers and suppliers across the tourism value chain and others in allied businesses and operations across the nation’s economy.

    According to her, the board, is set again to reclaim it number one spot in the country and that the rejuvenated tourism expo is part of the effort at rebranding the board and the state tourism.

    The three days expo will among others feature unique and special events, one of such, according to her, is the Delta Food Court. It will parade massive display of local cuisine, ranging from appetizers, spices, main course, and desserts to beverages and cooking competition.

    Other line – up includes road show /cultural carnival, fashion show and musical concert, arts, craft and souvenir, tourism seminar and workshop, tours and award/gala night.

  • Dubai on roadshow to woo tourists

    Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is one of the favourite destinations for Nigerian travellers. It is a top leisure destination for both leisure and business vacations for many Nigerians. This is attested to by the volume of flights from Nigeria that terminates in the city either directly or indirectly.

    In recognition of this, the Dubai Tourism bureau is making efforts to woo Nigerian travellers and carve greater share of the Nigeria’s international travel market. The tourism bureau was in the country last year for the Akwaaba tourism fair.

    Based on the success of the first foray in the Nigerian market at the fair, the bureau embarked on a roadshow to three key cities in Nigeria to introduce to those in the travel trade and the public some of the products and services Dubai has for Nigerian tourists.

    The team from the Dubai Tourism bureau was led by Stella Obinwa, the head of Dubai Tourism, Africa Region.

    She spoke on why Dubai is attracted to the Nigerian market. She said: “Nigeria is such a wonderful market for Dubai that I would be here over and over again. We will do as much as we can to support the travel trade and the consumers to visit Dubai.”

    Asked to describe the experience of her bureau in Nigeria so far, Obinwa confirmed that the roadshow was a follow-up to the success of Dubai Tourism’s participation in 2015 Akwaaba.

    “ I have not heard of any unsuccessful part of whatever we’ve done in Nigeria in the past six or seven months. Akwaaba was very successful for us. It was Dubai Tourism’s first time there, and for our first time, we won this International Stand Award.

    “ Our station was the most active. We actually came with about five companies for that trip, and based on the experience, we decided to do the roadshow. For the roadshow, we brought in about 24 different brands and between now and the next seven hours, all the representatives of those brands will be here.

    “We are doing three cities, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. Our intention is not to just keep on informing you about Dubai. We want to inform the broader public, which means touching the East, North,  South and  West. Hopefully, Abuja would cover all of the North for us, Port Harcourt would cover all of the East and South South and Lagos covers the West.

    “The format is a truly very informative roadshow. Each of these brands will be given a time slot to do a full-blown presentation of what they have to offer in Dubai, specifically what they have to offer to Nigerians. Then, we would all get to network and mingle. The invited guests for the roadshow have one-on-one chance with each of those representatives that come from Dubai to really cement the relationship and form a better plan of what they want to sell in Nigeria and how those Dubai companies can help them. So, we believe that we are making the environment to grow business for people of two different countries, Nigerians and Emiratis.”

    Obinwa said it was based on the importance Dubai attaches to the Nigerian market that top tourism and hospitality groups in Dubai were part of the show.

    “ We have a captain from the Dubai Emigration Service on this trip. He will start the presentation to explain the whole visa process and he will also explain the different kinds of visa that Dubai has to offer. Even in my short conversation with him, he told me about different kinds of visa that I wasn’t even aware of. I think it is going to be fabulous  information. That is on the government side. Then, we are bringing in Dubai parks that are opening this summer.

    “It will take you at least a whole week to visit the whole parks. We brought in  Starwood Hotels and  Emaar Hotels.We are bringing in Amani , Buri Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. We also have a few destination management companies, Emirates Holidays, Emirate Airlines and Damac Properties. They are comparable to Emaar.

    “We tried to bring properties or activities that we know will interest an average African, in particular the  Nigerian.

    “In everything we are doing in African market, we are starting with Nigeria because Nigeria gives us our biggest volume, but we are also focusing on East and South Africa as well because you are here, you are not seeing what we are doing.

    “ It was in South Africa, in the beginning of April, that we announced that we are going to do a FAM trip for 500 African agents and we would pull all those agents from all over Africa, 10 different countries to be exact and we will pay for them for five days and five nights to explore Dubai.

    “ You know it is easy to sell what you have seen and touched, and it is not just the best performing travel agents. We keep only focusing on the best performers; we will only have a limited market.

    “We are also interested in those that have paid attention to Dubai, but need that little bit of more information to help them grow their business. The only way we can grow this market is to increase our touch point and not just focus on five or six touch points,”she said.

    She also talked about the bureau’s experience  in the World Travel Market (WTM).

    “We also won an award there. WTM Africa is in its third year and in the first year, quite a few companies participated, and they were comparing to other international travelling exhibitions in London and Berlin.

    “The second year, a lot of companies didn’t participate. When I joined Dubai Tourism, I said Africa could not be compared to other continents. Africa is an emerging continent, an emerging market. We have to give it time to grow, so we have to be in that South Africa WTM to show that we are committed.

    “It was so well done, and one thing we always ask our Dubai participants is: do you want us to do this again next year?  They all signed up for next year even though it is 12 months away, “she said.

    “The three-city roadshow was held in Lagos- Federal Palace Hotel, then it moved to Port Harcourt-Hotel Presidential and then Abuja Sheraton. It was the same format every where.

    “In Lagos we invited over 180 guests, in Port Harcourt about 100 and in Abuja about 150. Airlines and National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) gave us a list of travel agencies,”she said.

  • Nigeria set to move tourism from ‘margins to mainstream’

    Nigeria set to move tourism from ‘margins to mainstream’

    Tourism is acknowledged as a money spinner all over the world. But the huge revenue coming from oil made it difficult for Nigeria to look at other viable sectors of the economy.

    Tourism, for example,  has been so neglected that the traffic in Nigeria trickles while other neighbouring countries in West Africa and beyond enjoy huge tourist influx.

    This is going to change as the current government said it will move tourism sector forward from “the margins to mainstream”.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a session with the media.

    According to the minister, “this administration is diversifying the economy away from oil which for many years has been the mainstay of our economy. Among the sectors that have been identified as veritable sources of revenue for the nation are the arts, culture and tourism sectors. This is why we in the Ministry of Information and Culture are working hard to move these sectors from the margin to the mainstream and ensure that the rural poor in particular are factored into the sector’s architecture.”

    He said the ministry is working with various local and international partners, including the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the British Council, to map creative arts with a view to reviving them massively through capacity building for those involved and the provision of loans. He said the Federal Government believes this would not only create hundreds of thousands of jobs, thus keeping people meaningfully engaged.

    The Federal Government, according to the minister, would train festival managers so they can be fortified enough to take their events to the next level and involving the local communities, as critical stakeholders, fully in our efforts to bring the sectors into mainstream.

    “We are aware that culture drives tourism, hence we intend to leverage heavily on our numerous cultural festivals in the country to boost tourist arrivals. That is why we are currently compiling a list of the top 10 creative arts and cultural festivals in each state of the federation, with a view to creating a year-round calendar of such events. This way, those willing to attend such events can plan ahead,”the minister said.

    Alhaji Lai Mohammed said it was in a bid to finetune and plan for the sector that his ministry held the national summit on culture and tourism this week  in Abuja.

    He said in order to get the industry moving, the Nigerian tourism industry must learn to do things differently.

    His words: “We cannot continue to do things the same way and get a different result. It is because Ghana is doing something differently, that is why it is getting better results. Only two weeks ago, Ghana made history. It became the first country, I think after Mauritius, to declare that all members of the African Union (AU) can come to Ghana and obtain visas on arrival. This is a very a major catalyst for tourism.

    “ It will interest many of us to know that it is more difficult at times to obtain a Nigerian visa than to obtain a visa to the Ukraine. Every day we are inundated with petitions reputable organizations who have put in applications to come to Nigeria, but for one reason or the other, they could not come in.

    “I think the first thing towards boosting tourism is that we must change our visa regime. If we don’t change our visa regime, we will find it difficult to get people to come in. But it goes beyond the visa regime, it goes to what is the attitude of our people at the land and air borders.

    “We must train our people who work at this borders to be tourist friendly. Many people, when they land in any airport in Nigeria, they are very afraid. So, this administration is working very hard to see that we have a tourist friendly visa regime.

    “But as you know, it is not only the Ministry of Information and Culture that can make this happen. We need to carry along the minister of interior, the director of our security service, Nigerian police, immigration and the NSA because everybody must  be part of it. But it even goes beyond that. What about the roads? In Cross River today, we have the Takamanda forest reserve. It is the oldest forest in the entire world.

    “The implication is that it has the richest bio-diversity in the whole world, more than the Amazon forest. Properly exploited, the cures to most of the diseases could be found in the trees in that forest reserve. That reserve today has the only surviving family of the silver beard gorillas. But it will take you 10 hours from Calabar to Takamanda,  a very bad road. So, it needs a combination and collaboration of all ministries-works, power, interior, security and so on, for you to have a proper tourism. We have realized this, and we are working very hard to carry everybody along. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Now that the price of crude has gone down, it is important to look at other sectors and provision of infrastructure will help a lot in turning around our tourism.”

  • La Campagne Tropicana moves to Kogi

    History was made recently when the ground breaking ceremony of La Campagne Tropicana River Resort Koton Karfi in Kogi State held at the resort’s site amidst celebration by the people of Koton Karfi and others in attendance.

    The new resort is to seat on 89.7 hectares stretch of land with the River Niger forming a lake across the land.

    Interestingly, just like the Lekki resort, which has the Atlantic Ocean and the lagoon with the mangrove swamp and stretch of forested land harbouring some animal habitats, the Koton Karfi resort also comes with its complete blend of natural elements such as the lake and forest area which hopefully would make the resort a distinctive natural hideaway as well.

    Speaking during the ceremony, the founder and President of La Campagne, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, described the new venture as a new dawn and celebration of industry and successes that have been achieved in the 30 years of the existence of La Campagne in Lekki and that he hopes to replicate the same in Koton Karfi and even surpass it.

    He urged the people to embrace the resort because it is for them as it is meant to bring development to the community and open it to the international community, thereby improving on the socio- economic and cultural development of the people and the community.

  • FTAN commends information minister

    The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) has commended the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for convening the national culture and tourism summit billed for next week to fashion out a way for the Nigerian tourism industry.

    Speaking on the summit scheduled to commence on Wednesday next week, FTAN President, Chief. Tomi Akingbogun, said the tourism industry in Nigeria is on a back foot and the industry would totally be extinct, if efforts are not made to go back to the drawing board and fashion a way forward.

    Speaking on the summit, Akingbogun said: “FTAN is very much involved in the stakeholders’ summit by the minister. We are happy he is a listening minister because we have been communicating with him. He is kicking off with everybody sitting at the same table to look at the challenges and proffer solutions.

    “In the past, the ministry would come up with policies that were strange to the private sector. That is the reason for the summit, to carry everybody along. We are happy he has taken the right step. We also want to thank the ministry officials for their inputs.”

  • Raking in more revenue through tourism

    THE global crash in world oil price has negatively affected the country. The income that the country had hitherto generated from sales of crude oil has dwindled drastically. This has affected the government’s ability to carry out projects and fund its expenditures. It is, therefore, exploring means of earning income outside oil that currently contributes more 90 percent of the country’s GDP.

    Recently, the New Telegraph newspapers in their maiden economic summit titled ‘Nigeria: Beyond the Oil Economy’ brought in experts to look at how the country can generate income through other sectors of the economy. In the light of the huge figures tourism generates every year in the world and manifest transformation it has brought to many countries, it was no surprise that tourism was among the economic sectors discussed as possible areas the nation could diversify into.

    The former governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, chaired the tourism session with a paper presentation by the ex-Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, titled: ‘Our Heritage, Our Destination in a New Economy’.

    The paper and the discussion brought to the fore the huge tourism assets the country has and how the country could tap into them to help in transforming the economy and earn income.

    In his paper, Runsewe said the country, through tourism, could generate millions of jobs since tourism is human labour intensive. This, he said, could solve the high rate of youths unemployment and create millions of jobs in the country.

    He said: “With over 350 ethnic groups, Nigeria is the most culturally plural and most culturally diverse nation in black Africa. The richness of her natural environment and her culture and diversity of her people readily makes the Nigeria a potential tourist destination of choice in Africa. “

    Runsewe said areas such as eco-tourism, cultural cum historical tourism could be developed to attract tourists.

    His words: “Nigeria is generally known to have the most fascinating and most cultural festivals in the whole world. These cultural festivals are expressed in songs, dance, drama, incantations and so on. Festivals are an integral part of Nigeria’s culture, depicting the country’s custom and tradition in a very colorful way. These offer tourists unique opportunity to sample Nigeria’s culture in its undiluted form.

    “In fact, Nigeria has comparative advantage over other African countries in cultural tourism. Many of the cultural festivals in Nigeria have gained international prominence and have continued to capture the fancy of international audience.”

    Runsewe said nations like the United Arab Emirates who also have oil, new that oil does not last forever and as such started planning for post oil economy by diversifying to other sectors to generate income. The sector they turned to was oil. He said Nigeria could equally do the same.

    He concluded: “The reality of today requires that hitherto neglected sectors like agriculture, manufacturing , mining, solid minerals, among others, must strengthen in order to evolve and consolidate the economic base of our nation.

    “Above all, specific attention must be placed on our tourism sector in the process of diversification. This sector has shown greater prospect than oil. While the oil is good, tourism is better; while oil is exhaustible and has some negative effects on our environment, tourism is sustainable and environmental friendly.”

    In his contribution, Uduaghan said it was because of period such as the one the country was in that during his administration, he was harping on the phrase Delta beyond oil. Other discussants on tourism were Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, Tourism Consultant to the Ooni of Ife and proprietor of La Campagne Tropicana, Ikegun, Lagos and Mr. Ashamu Fadipe, former Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and Inter-governmental Relations.

    Besides the online presence, Wakanow has over 25 travel centers across Nigeria with an intention to open 100 centers by the end of 2016.  Wakanow also has offices in Dubai, UK and Ghana. New offices are planned in the US and Kenya.

    In a bid to diversify her business, Wakanow has also gone into the ground transportations business with the acquisition of Oya.com, a local bus, cargo and car hire services company.

  • Wakanow relaunches brand

    Nigeria’s leading online travel company, Wakanow,  held  a relaunch early this week. The relaunch also saw a change in its identity.

    The new identity was unveiled in the relaunch. The company said it was  partnering with Zenith Bank as its banker of choice in the brands’ roll out across Africa, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates ( UAE).

    In a media launch, which was graced by the management of Wakanow,  key members of the media, partners and friends of Wakanow, the new brand identity was unveiled by the Executive Director Zenith Bank, Mr. Sola Oladipo.

    The new logo, a combination of the very vibrant sea blue and orange colours, gives the brand a more mature outlook that resonates very soundly with her global intentions and with the dynamic nature of her target market.

    Wakanow is the Nigerian foremost online travel booking portal and has grown from a relatively humble beginning in 2008 to one of the power players in the travel industry in Nigeria today.

    It has distinguished itself in the online travel industry with the many achievements over the past seven years. In 2013, she won the coveted Tony Elumelu All Nigeria Network Award as one of the 50 fastest growing companies in Nigeria.

    In the midst of several awards, including from airline partners and other stakeholders, the MD of Wakanow, Obinna Ekezie, won the prestigious All Africa Business Leaders Award for West Africa for 2015. AABLA is awarded in partnership with the CNBC Africa.

    Wakanow is the current exclusive ticket reseller for the 2016 RIO Olympics, a status that she also held for both the London Olympics and the World Cup in RIO Brazil in 2012.

    Speaking on the launch, the Chief Marketing Officer, Mrs. Victoria Onwubiko, stated that in view of the plan by the company to go global, it was important for Wakanow to position itself to take on the headwinds of the new challenges.

    She stated that the new logo is a personification of upwards and forwards movement that is a key part of the brands mantra, with a simplicity that makes it easily recognizable among other leading world brands.

    She added that the Wakanow brand refresh is not just an external change, but will also run deep into the heart of the business forming a solid internal culture that will give it the backbone for excellence in quality service delivery.

    In his address, the Managing Director and founder of Wakanow, Obinna Ekezie, expressed his delight at the events of the day, pointing out that Wakanow is poised to become a key player in not only Africa, but of the world with an undying passion to change the way people do travel.

    He expressed his delight at the partnership with Zenith and saw it as a vehicle to take the innovative Wakanow products to Africa.

    The Wakanow vision is to delight her customers with well-priced packages that cannot found anywhere else and this proposition is made possible by the very extensive partnership that Wakanow has with airlines and hotels partners.

    Being an indigenous African company, Wakanow is well positioned to take the higher ground in making African travel an absolute delight for non-Africans as it targets new customers from Europe, US and the UAE.

    In partnering with Zenith Bank for this global roll out, Wakanow was looking for a banking partner that is not only nimble and forward focused, but also one that also has the capacity to take on the very rapidly expanding portfolio of the Wakanow brand.

    Zenith has good experience across Africa, with an impressive footfall in several African countries. It is globally recognized as a banker of choice with a keen eye for recognizing budding opportunities and taking them head one. The synergy between the two companies makes them a natural fit.

  • Borgu fixes Durbar, emir’s coronation

    The Borgu International Gani Durbar Festival will hold April 27th to 30th. To add royal glamour and touch to the event, the coronation of the new Emir of Borgu, Alhaji (Barrister) Muhammad Sani Dantoro, Kotoro IV will dove tail the event.

    It should be recalled that the festival which was billed to be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari as special guest of Honor last year December was called off and postponed on account of the demise of the former Emir of Borgu, Senator (Dr.) Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III, the father of the new emir, Alhaji (Barrister) Muhammad Sani whose coronation is billed as part and the climax of this festival.

    Gani-Durbar International festival is in its third edition and notably reverberates across the Borgu sister nations in Nigeria and West Africa frontiers of Benin, Togo, Mali and Niger republic. It is a celebration of the historical and cultural gifts of the Borgu people with a window to creating a tourism economic platform that will empower the rural poor and highlight benefit of   Nigeria diverse rich culture as other key cultural groups in Nigeria will also be on showcase.

  • Southern Sun Ikoyi marks Easter for clients

    In enjoying the Southern Sun Ikoyi hospitality this Easter, guests are invited to celebrate in style with loved ones or to simply take a personal break as they await the arrival of the Easter during the long festive weekend.

    Showcasing the best offers for a relaxing break, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises a cozy ambience with a luxurious spread of pampering experiences that guests can enjoy. Boasting fine cuisine that heightens the Easter spirit and with a special touch from the hotel’s Head Chef for the occasion, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises a rosy arrival for Easter’s much awaited bunny.

    The hotel is offering Easter Sunday brunch and guests can enjoy a wide range of culinary delights with fine selections of wine and cocktail blends. The hotel says the accommodation rates are competitive with breakfast inclusive.

    With its stylish and contemporary ambience, sufficient WiFi internet connectivity and an outdoor pool and terrace area ideal for cooling off or just lounging with friends and familyduring the long Easter weekend, Southern Sun Ikoyi also boasts a well-equipped gym designed to meet the fitness needs of guests,equally manned by staff who are extremely warm and professional.

    Dedicated to catering to all the particular needs of its guests during this season, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises to spoil each guest this Easter with treats that ensure you leave with great memories.