The Nation Newspaper

Category: Travels on Saturday

  • Nigeria becomes ICPT member

    The innovations and aggressive promotion of Nigeria’s tourist destinations have earned the country a place on the International Council for the Promotion of Tourism (ICPT).

    President of the ICTP, Professor Geoffrey Lipman, who conducted the ceremony at the Seychelles’ stand at the ongoing World Travel Market in London, disclosed that the council’s search for right-minded members led it to Nigeria and her apex tourism promotion agency, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation.

    Nigeria, according to Lipman, “has huge tourism potential, and we on the council know how lucky we are to have the NTDC DG Otunba Segun Runsewe as a council member.”

    He said the plan of the ICTP  is to put the tourism sector of its over 500 member countries on the path of growth.

    In his acceptance speech, Runsewe expressed his gratitude to the council for noticing the humble work the agency was doing in Nigeria and pledged his commitment to the goals of the council.

    Issues discussed at the ICTP meeting were the improvement of services to help members strengthen their own commitment to Green Growth and Quality,rebranding the organisation as a “coalition” supporting grassroots engagement in the sector’s contribution to a low carbon inclusive and environmentally-responsible world with a proactive leadership council.

    They also announced a strengthening of advocacy programmes through collaboration with industry organisations and business partners in co-sponsored events to promote: Sustainable aviation growth, streamlined travel, fair coherent taxation and  investments for jobs.

    They reiterated their commitment to work with international travel and tourism organisations in their efforts to advance these strategies.

    President Geoffrey Lipman said: “We firmly expect that in 2013, which is going to be a very difficult year, our coalition will be a new force to help destinations and their stakeholders to focus on Green Growth and Quality in a creative way that enhances their competitiveness, attracts new investments, creates jobs, and helps build happier communities.”

    Both Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles and Mr. Thomas Steinmetz, the Chairman of the ICTP, also addressed the gathered members at the Seychelles Stand at WTM 2012 in the presence of Mr. David Aherne of the EURO Congress, the European Convention Bureau.

  • Soweto Gospel Choir for CARNIRIV 2012

    The Soweto Gospel Choir, a Grammy Award winner, will be top on the bill for this year’s CARNIRIV. They will be performing at the Civic Centre, Port Harcourt December 9. This is part of the activities for this year’s festival.

    The organisers, in a release, stated that this is part of the efforts of the Chibuike Amaechi-led government to promote River State as a destination.

    The Rivers State Tourism Development  Agency (RSTDA) has even promised that this year’s edition will be the best so far organized and that  it has made ready everything that is necessary for the hosting of the biggest carnival ever known.

    According to Dr. Sam Dede, RSTDA director-general, this year’s carnival is a commemorative edition, and it has been

    titled CARNIRIV 2012 Port Harcourt 100 Edition in celebration of the centenary anniversary of the existence of Port Harcourt.

    He said the carnival will be celebrated with its unique blends of culture, music and entertainment as well as the participation of international stars, thereby underlining the distinctiveness and multifaceted character of CARNIRIV as a global carnival brand compared to any similar carnival held elsewhere. He also promised that local and international tourists that will attend the carnival will savour the full bouquet of A-list events already packaged  to make CARNIRIV 2012 an unforgettable experience.

    To this end, he revealed that Grammy Award-winning reggae star and rapper, Shaggy; compatriot and fellow reggae singer, Patra ,popularly called the Queen of the Pack; and gospel music  sensation, Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa, are some of the international music acts and groups that will light up the state at this year’s edition of CARNIRIV. The carnival holds from December 8 to 15 in Port Harcourt, the capital city. The director-general explained that arrangements have been concluded with a number of local and international stars and entertainers that will thrill guests on various  days and across various segments of the carnival including the opening and closing ceremonies on December 10 and 15 respectively.

    According to him, one of the high profile events for this year is the Christian interdenominational CARNIRIV Praise

    Jam slated for Sunday, December 9 at 7pm at the Civic Centre, Port Harcourt during which Grammy Award winner, the Soweto Gospel Choir, will be in their best element with soul-lifting songs. ‘‘This is an ice-breaker event for CARNIRIV 2012. The best gospel artistes within and outside the country are expected to grace this stage in an evening fused with soulful and uplifting music requisite for inspiring the added spiritual ambience which the Port Harcourt Carnival ordinarily thrives on’’, Dede said.   He revealed further that Shaggy and Patra alongside other top local and international artistes are expected to storm Reggae-360, an event organised for reggae lovers and connoisseurs alike on Thursday, December 13. ‘‘As music is largely incomplete without a tinge of reggae timbering away in its familiar pulse-like rhythm, so is the carnival incomplete without a well-rounded reggae feast’’, he declared.

    While informing that Dance of Fireflies (DOFF) is another thrilling event in which renowned musicians and entertainment buffs will be treated to good music, Dede said DOFF forms the theme of the opening ceremony concert. He said the concert will feature a well-choreographed, dance collage compromising indigenous riverine dances and calisthenics for the enactment of a dance Drama titled “The Return of the Mangrove Giant”.

     

     

     

     

    Still on the entertainment side, he said it will be another evening of excitement on Wednesday, December 12 as lovers

    of African music gather for the Black African Music Festival (BAMFest). This is a celebration of the black African heritage

    which stretches beyond the continent of Africa? Expected at BAMFest are select black musicians from the Americas,

    Caribbean islands, Europe and Africa. HOSH Jam, a concert which reminiscences the splendour, ease and rustic charm

    of night life in the 60s and 70s, is equally billed for December 11.

     

     

  • La Campagne boss re-appointed African Tourism Ambassador

    The proprietor of La Campagne Tropicana Resort, Ikegun, Lagos State, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye has been re-appointed Tourism Ambassador for Africa by the World Conference of Mayors. Akinboboye was re-appointed at the recently held meeting of the body in Guinea.

    The body said it chose the development of tourism as a viable tool and option for the development of the continents, especially the continent of Africa with the belief that what can greatly and positively affect the development of Africa is tourism. Two seasoned personalities were elected to midwife their pet projects aimed at fostering development throughout the world.

    Ambassador Thomas Masters, Mayor of Riviera Beach, Florida is to direct the association’s affairs as its Tourism Ambassador for the Americas and Europe, whilst Otunba Wanle Akinboboye to direct its affairs as Tourism Ambassador for the continent of Africa and Co-chair of its Corporate Roundtable.

    The underlying factor being that Africa will be transformed into a world destination if a chunk of the over USD 60 billion spent annually by African-Americans travelling to destinations all over the world, but not to Africa, could be harnessed and channeled into the continent on a recurrent basis. The ripple effect of this on the African economy will greatly foster prosperity of Africa and Africans.

    The collective economic base of the African-American citizens living in the United States of America is conservatively put at USD 900 billion. Many of the particiapnts see tha appointment as an honour to West Africa as the region has been given the privilege of having one its citizen elected as the Tourism Ambassador.

    The World Conference of Mayors is an umbrella body for the association of Mayors worldwide. It was founded by Mayor Johnny Ford, of Tuskegee, Alabama, USA in 1984 for the promotion and fostering of unity and development amongst cities all over the world. In accordance with its charter, the association elected important dignitaries who will oversee its developmental projects/programmes on every continent from time to time. The body comprises 22,000 (twenty-two thousand) Mayors worldwide out of which 12,000 (twelve thousand) are Americans. Of this number, 650 (six hundred and fifty) are African-American Mayors who collectively preside over 48 to 50 million American citizens.

  • Unique culinary experience at Lagos Airport Hotel

    The Lagos Airport Hotel is currently offering a unique culinary experience for both in-house guests and visitors. This was disclosed by the hotel’s Controller, Food and Beverages, Mrs. Biola Famigbelu.

    She said the hotel’s restaurants, O’odua and Olumo Restaurants, in its tradition, of offering unique hospitality service, have put together unique local and continental dishes that takes into consideration every kind of guests. Her words: “ We have both The O’Odua and Olumo Restaurants. Olumo is our exclusive ala carte restaurant. At Olumo Restaurant you can choose from the menu of the day and it will be prepared, both local and continental.

    “The O’odua Restaurant offers buffet with cafeteria service. We started with a buffet service in 2005, thereafter we weighed the cost and changed to this particular services. On the table we provide variety of food. We take of everybody including those that have health challenges. We have special dishes for them, it is there. If, for example, we have a diabetic person that wants to take her breakfast, from what is on the table the person could conveniently take his or her breakfast and be okay. If we have an ulcer patient, the person could also have a tailor-made dishes.

    “There are very few hotels that render this kind of service, this is in addition to the fact that ours is bread and breakfast. Where other hotels offer such services, they give only continental breakfast not our normal breakfast with full compliment, which is what Lagos Airport Hotel offers.”

    She said as part of the on-going renovation and upgrading in the hotel, the restaurants will soon be refurbished and facilities upgrading to add more of aesthetics and create an ambience that would go hand in hand with the unique culinary experience the restaurants offer.

  • Government should join hand in cultural promotion, says Adams

    The National Co-ordinator of the O’odua People’s Congress(OPC), Otunba Gani Adams has called on the government and corporate organisations to pay attention to culture and festivals as tools for economic development.

    Adams, promoter of the Olokun Festival foundation, stated that the benefits of cultural festivals to national development could not be quantified, and called on governments at different levels, as well as various corporate organisations in the country, to as a matter of urgency, join hands with other serious-minded Nigerians to promote same.

    Adams noted that if the Olokun Foundation as an organisation could create such a forum for economic activities to thrive, it is better imagined what could be achieved if government and other corporate organisations tap into the celebration of festivals like this across the country.

    He said the theme for the year’s celebration “Culture as a tool for economic development”, was carefully chosen to reflect the need by all and sundry to tap into the goldmine called culture, which he also said can be turned into a money spinning machine for both the individual and the country.

    The OPC leader noted that despite the challenges which at some point seemed insurmountable, God, in His infinite mercies provided the needs to host the annual event which is organised in honour of the sea goddess, Olokun.

    He called on participants to give a thought to how they can contribute in their own little ways in making the seas and oceans safer for the human race.

    While noting that culture plays a very important role in our daily lives, Adams stated that it is for this reason that our elders regard a man without culture as a dead man.

    “What this means is that culture is life. It is the way we live, eat, dress, work and even in death, our culture is reflected in the way we bury our dead,” he said.

    He, therefore, called on the Yoruba people at home and in the Diaspora to dedicate more time to teaching their children the history, culture and religion of the people.

    Adams said: “We must not lose sight of our history and the son of whom we are. It shocks me whenever I see a Yoruba child who struggles to speak Yoruba language, or greets his parents standing.”

    He lamented that a lot of ignorant people think that members of the OPC are atheists who don’t believe in the existence of God because they love and appreciate their culture.

    Nothing, he said, could be farther from the truth than this, as they must have forgotten that among its members are devout Muslims, Christians and traditional religious believers who are joined by fate and a common sense of purpose.

    Also speaking, at the event, High Chief Yussuf Akinade Olayinka I, Bashorun of Oyoland, also lamented that many Yoruba youths find it difficult to speak Yoruba, adding, that it should be a thing of pride for them to understand and speak their language fluently.

    On the benefits of the festival, Gani noted that it helps to further economic activities and provide livelihood for people close to such areas and others who troop there for trade benefits.

  • Cross River: Making of a destination

    Cross River: Making of a destination

    The tempo for this year’s December festival in Calabar is gradually increasing. It will be officially flagged off on November 31.
    Unlike in the past, Cross River State is marketing the whole state as a destination rather than the seasonal festival.
    Here, we look at endowments that make Cross River State a destination

    Cross River State has become a vast leisure getaway. It has built a reputation for its self as a place where for 32 days, there is festivity and visitors are pampered in the only way peculiar to the people. The month of November is the eve to this festive month.

    However, the state wants more of the local and international tourist share of arrivals. As such, the state is reinventing itself, doing a circumspection of its past tourism offering and re-assessing its efforts and product on offer to both local and international tourists.

    The leisure season for the state is about to begin, but now it is not all about Calabar Festival and of course its top product, the Carnival Calabar. It is about Destination Cross River.

    In creating Destination Cross River, the state seeks to create a distinct identity for itself as a unique place for pampering and caring for people and making them happy. In this new brand creation, there is a remarkably paradigm shift from what used to obtain in the past. Business tourism was supposed to act as a major launch pad for tourism in the state. That informed the building of the Tinapa, a recreation of Dubai in Africa.

    However, The state is not waiting until all the bottlenecks currently stiffling the take-off of Tinapa is sorted out. Rather, it has decided to add content to other tourism sites all over the state. By so doing, Destination Cross River would be an all-year-round tourism experience.

    So, one may ask, what is the difference between the new Destination Cross River and what obtained in the past? The difference is that while the Calabar Festival is a seasonal 32-day event with the Carnival Calabar, reputed to be Africa’s biggest street party, being the highpoint, Destination Cross River is building a new image for the state as an all-year-round tourist friendly getaway that caters for both leisure and conference, guests, with an eye for business tourism too.

    This new thrust of the state as a total package is predicated on trying to harness and market all the top tourists site within the state, upgrade the facilities from being just sites to a destination with all the supporting facilities that would make them an enjoyable experience.

    Destination Cross River is anchored on culture and eco-tourism.

    With a diverse ethnic group of over 100 languages and dialects, there is an abundance of colourful culture and tradition.

    In Ikom, Leboku festival in Yakurr is distinct. Leboku is a unique new year festival that celebrates fertilityof the land and beauty of womanhood. It is 32 days of celebration that is captured in only a few places in the world. But one must not forget a tour of Ikom area around July and August would not just be about the Leboku alone. There is also the Ikom monolith to explore and the Agbokim waterfall. So, just in Ikom zone alone, it is a full package.

    The Leboku comes up around July and August during the harvesting of new yams from the farm. However, the people of Cross River entertain in their celebration of culture. To a great extent, the 32 days celebration is a modernization of the culture of hospitality that is already ingrained in the people of the state.

    The Obudu Mountain Resort is probably one of the earliest recognized tourism site in the country. When Cross River State is described as a paradise, there is no place in the state this is more apt than Obudu Mountain Resort. Describing the place as paradise, in the simple sense of the word is not patronizing. One is not surprise that in Cross River folklore, there are some community that swore that the biblical Garden of Eden was located in the state. There might not be any concrete proof of that except that if one is searching for a paradise, there is a sense of Eureka- I have found it, on getting to Obudu Mountain. It is only a blind man that would not be moved by the sight of this idyllic mountain ranch that offers sights and sounds incomparable to anything else in this part of the world.

    However, the dominant image of Destination Cross River State brand is the 32-day Festival. This is due to the streams of images from the past editions that have always left everybody excited. This year, according to the state, is no exception.

    It is gratifying that Cross River State is positioning itself as the prime and probably the only tourism destination in the country. It did not do this by just trumpeting the phrase, but went out of its way to do the necessary background work that helps in making the state easy to access.

    This, the state did in so many ways. Tourism is one of the commonest English words in the state. The people know what it means when local and foreign visitors walk on the streets in the state. Creating the necessary man-power based sector like the hospitality industry through training and education of young men and women to understand the sector well is on. The effort to make the destination accessible to both local and foreign tourists has been done through the initiative of groups like Remlords and the hotels associaition of the state with their pet project- Experience Cross River. It does not require any special knowledge of anything to book a holiday in Cross River State, it is just a click away on the internet.

    Of course, one key component of tourism which Destination Cross River is selling is peace of mind. It is probably the only state in the country that one could visit, enjoy the laid-back ambience and without the discomforting consciousness of trying to watch one’s back.

    But with all these pluses for tourism in the state, it becomes useless when the roads are deathtraps. It is a challenge that once tackled, will resolve the jigsaw.

    Indeed, nature and man connived in Destination Cross River to produce an environment where every body can come, let down their guard, and have a wonderful time. The season is here.

  • FTAN organises Tourism Investors’ Forum

    The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) is to organise a tourism investment forum next year.

    Chief Samuel Alabi, National President of the FTAN made this known recently in Lagos.

    According to him, the tourism sector is faced with a series of challenges, one of which is the issue of funding for the sector either by financial institutions or established government sources that has not really been handy.

    In making it a memorable and exemplary event, many private and public individuals have been pencilled down to speak at the forum.

    Top issues to be discussed at the forum are: the Place of Tourism in Nigeria and the Challenges of Funding, the Role of Tourism in the Economic Development of Nigeria and Nigerian Fiscal Policies and its Imperatives on Tourism Development.

    Others are Taxation as a Tool of Tourism Development, the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its Tourism Potential and an Appraisal of Current Sectoral Intervention Funds.

    The highlights of the event would be an exhibition and broad participation from stakeholders from the travel and tourism industry.

  • Vanishing face of Abuja Carnival

    Vanishing face of Abuja Carnival

    The Abuja Carnival 2012 was held between November 24 and November 27. The organizers of the festival must be commended for hosting the festival tagged Carnival of Peace and Harmony under difficult conditions, most especially in the light of national security challenges and paucity of funds.

    The festival featured important programmes such as the carnival float, the boat regatta and, of course, the command performance that featured performances from countries like Egypt, China, Namibia and Trinidad and Tobago.

    Many would say that for such festival to hold at all signals, to a large extent, that the security situation in the country is not as bad as it has been painted.

    The organisers should also be commended because within the short time that the nod for the festival was given, they could still put up a show for a select audience in Abuja to see.

    The question that needs to be answered is that having staged the festival, how would it impact on the country’s quest to become one of the preferred tourist destinations in Africa?

    Speaking on the carnival, one of Nigeria’s foremost tour operators, Mr. Jemi Alade, said: “I knew that Abuja Carnival was going to take place. But nobody seems to know about Abuja Carnival outside Nigeria. It is a difficult sell. It is not that I am against it, but it not something marketable for me. I don’t know about other persons.”

    Some officials of the National Association of Nigerian Tour Operators (NATOP) told this reporter that the NATOP could not make any input to the carnival because it was not carried along. So, there was no way the members could go out to start marketing an event that they had no details about.

    Lucky George, the veteran travel journalist and publisher of the African Travel Magazine, had this to say about the festival: “Unfortunately, from what was seen in the last two editions, it is obvious that the carnival has remained at the level of just making money for the organizers and to appease state art councils which normally participate in the carnival as they normally put the carnival in their annual budgets.

    “Regrettably, from my interactions with the Abuja Hotel Owners’ Forum, the festival has no impact on their business since most participants from states normally stay in schools and hostels for the duration of the festival.”

    However, having said it, one needs to point out that the Abuja Carnival that was organized between last week and this week only shows that the gradual reversal of fortune that the festival has been going through in the last couple of years has reached a level that it has become an embarrassment to the country.

    There are many reasons for this. Unlike in the past when efforts were made to mobilise and sensitise Nigerians about the festival so that they would participate, no such thing was done. This led to the venue of the festival, Eagle Square, being empty. It was a show in which the participants were also the audience. The street float, one of the hallmarks of the carnival, was done on empty streets.

    If the aim of the festival was to attract inbound tourists, it was a woeful failure as no foreign visitor that would be travelling with his or her money would take off to Nigeria under such short notice.

    Severally, it has been pointed out that organizing such event that requires in-bound tourists needs long notice, a minimum of one year, but those at the helms at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation chose not to know. It seems the most important thing is that once there is an approval for the festival to be organised, then it has to go on no matter how poorly planned. Since it is organised with the aim of wooing tourists to Nigeria, organizers of the festival should give us the number of inbound tourists that came for the festival outside those countries invited by the government. If the Abuja residents did not come out for the festival as seen in the poor turn out and there were almost zero visitors from abroad, the question then is for who was the 2012 Abuja Carnival was held.

    The Abuja Carnival that was envisaged when the festival made a debut in 2005 during the Obasanjo government is far from what currently obtains. There are so many reasons for this. First, the uncertainty that has shrouded the festival in the last couple of years.

    However, in the last couple of years, the quality of the festival in terms of form and content has much nosedived. From all indications, this year’s event has further given fillip to those strongly canvassing that the festival should be scrapped as it is adding nothing to the tourism profile of the country which was the initial goal the festival set out to achieve when it was started. Rather all we have is a cobbled event organised with an eye to spend the allotted budget rather than adding value to the tourism industry.

    With the wastage that has become the hallmark of the Abuja Carnival and its current descent into mediocrity with little or no audience, the Federal Government’s quest to diversify the Nigeria’s economy from overdependence on oil will be better served, if the money currently expended in the Abuja Carnival is spent in making the Carnival Calabar better.

    Many stakeholders in tourism are of the opinion that if driving the tourist traffic into the country was the reason for the annual staging of the carnival, it has failed woefully and should be discontinued.

    The money for the festival could be better used in developing other critical subsectors of the tourism industry instead of spending it on a festival that is adding absolutely nothing to the country’s tourism development.

  • United adds B787 Dreamliner

    United Airlines and the Consul General of the U.S Consulate, Lagos celebrated the first anniversary of the airlines’ direct flight from Lagos to Houston in a cocktail reception held on Tuesday, November 20 in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The event was also used to inform the audience about the plans of the airline to add the B787 Dreamliner to its fleet flying between Lagos and Houston direct route, come early January 2013.

    It would be recalled that United Airlines officially inaugurated its Lagos to Houston non-stop direct flight on November 17 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    The reception was held in celebration of the route’s success in its first year of operation. The event set in a spectacular location, the very residence of the U.S Consul General, Mr. Jeffery Hawkins.

    The location turned out to be a beautifully well-trimmed, natural turf over-looking a panoramic waterfront view of the massive Lagos Lagoon. The setting creates an ambient atmosphere that speaks of class, the event’s packaging answers to qualit and creative perfection and uniqueness for which the Americans are noted for.

    The event turned out not to be one of long speech makings but rather afforded participants the opportunity to connect, familiarise and network among themselves freely amidst abundant flow of assorted delicacies, wines and good music. Thanks to the classy and quality services of the staff of Four Points Hotel who positioned themselves at strategic spots within the event arena to respond to guests’ requests and so displayed their skills in the hospitality business to perfection.

    Rebecca Armand, the commercial counsellor for the Embassy of the United States of America, stepped on to the podium, called the attention of the participants and opened the event.

    The commercial counsellor, in steering the event, explained that it has been a huge experience doing business in Nigeria, as it has been yielding benefits to them.

    Making a short remark at the event also, the Country Manager for United Airlines, Gary Bidmead, touched on the importance of the Nigerian aviation industry to focus more effort on air safety issues. “Nigeria needs to upgrade her security facility in the aviation sector as air safety is important to the travelling public”, he concluded.

    The Country Manager went on to reveal, to the excitement of the audience, that the airline is joining the league of companies that has the new B787 Dreamliner aircraft in their fleet.

    “Come early January 2013, United Airlines will be launching and adding the B787 Dreamliner aircraft to its fleet to fly the Lagos and Houston route”. The B787 is one of the most technologically advanced commercial airlines in the world, with the right humidity for passengers’ comfort and the biggest window in the sky.

    Mr. Hawkins took time to recount his pleasant experience in Lagos within the period that he has been in the country.

    Some of the dignitaries present at the event included Capt. Edward Boyo, MD/CEO, Landover Aviation Company; the GSA for United Airline, Ashley Batemann; Senior Consultant, U.S. Federal Team, Global Business Services, IBM; Chief Bintan Famutimi, Deputy President, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce; Dr Ladi Awosika, CEO Total Health Trust Ltd; Queen Ahneva Ahneva, Chief Operating Officer, Quintessentially Lifestyle, among others.

    In his remark, Chief Famutimi observed that “Nigeria was one of the countries blacklisted for non-safety in air transport by the United states.

    “A Delta airline was the first to break the non-safety jinx to fly direct to Lagos from the United States. And now United Airlines has joined with its Lagos to Houston direct flight”.

  • Starwood to open three hotels in Nigeria

    Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has announced that it will increase its African portfolio by nearly 30 per cent with 10 new hotels set to open over the next three years, adding more than 4,200 guest rooms to the continent and creating thousands of local employment opportunities. Three of these hotels will be in Nigeria.

    Emphasising the importance of Africa as one of the world’s fastest-growing hotel and travel markets, the company’s Frits van Paasschen and members of Starwood’s senior executive team were in Nigeria and two other key growth markets,Angola and Gabon.

    “Home to seven of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies, there could not be a better time to expand our footprint in Africa,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

    ”From a vastly improving infrastructure, major investments from China, rapid economic growth, rising personal incomes and a growing middle class – we are seeing exciting changes that are driving the African future and we intend to be a part of it,”he said.

    At a press conference in Lagos, van Paasschen shared Starwood’s plans to further expand its portfolio in Nigeria, the company’s largest growth market on the African continent.

    Starwood currently operates five hotels in Nigeria, one in Abuja, one in Ibom, one in Port Harcourt and two in Lagos under its Sheraton, Le Méridien and Four Points by Sheraton brands. By 2015, Starwood will open three additional hotels in Nigeria, one property in Benin City and two in Lagos.

    “Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and boasts the second-largest economy on the continent, presenting tremendous opportunities for the country to play a key role in our African expansion.With investor-friendly policies in place and ongoing economic growth, Nigeria epitomises the economic ascent of Africa as a development destination,”said Simon Turner, President of Global Development & Acquisition, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

    With more than 70 per cent of the world’s economic growth coming from fast-growing markets over the next few years, Starwood is focused on expansion in developing African countries such as Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and South Africa. The company is also looking to enter key emerging countries, including Angola, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

    As part of this strategy, Starwood is investing in the development, sales and expansion of its Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) programme in Africa. By the end of this year, Starwood will double its dedicated development team focused on growth in Africa, underscoring the company’s commitment to continued growth in the region.