Category: Sunday magazine

Technology has made travel arrangements a do-it-yourself experience that many individuals are taking advantage of. Joe Agbro Jr. in this report writes about how travel agencies are staying relevant

As the end of the year approaches, it’s another travelling season. And for some people, that involves travelling abroad. But, foreign travels, unlike domestic travel, require special preparation in the forms of documentations, transport arrangements, and even accommodation. Previously, for a long while, this domain was largely handled by travel agencies who literally slaved to ensure a smooth travel for the customer.

However, with the democratisation of the internet, and airlines, hotels, tour companies and even countries offering their services online, travellers now have the option of personally arranging their itineraries.

Undoubtedly, the travel business is booming. One just needs to visit the international airports to see multitudes trooping out daily. Whether for conferences and seminars, medical tours, international educational tours, holidays and adventures, religious tourisms to places like Israel and Saudi Arabia, Nigerians are travelling.

Previously, information such as real time offers only directed to travel agents, with a few clicks of setting, can now be made accessible to a wider audience as internet portals dedicated to travel abound. In Nigeria for instance, on one of the premium travel websites,www.wakanow.com. On the website, anyone can make hotel reservations, book airline tickets, pay for travel tours and holidays, and even arrange visas to certain countries.

Indeed, nearly all countries publish visa details and other travel requirements. However, it might take some research to digest all the relevant information pertaining to one’s travel status. Hitherto, such information was largely restricted to the professionals in the travel industry. Not any more.

In addition, popular airlines like Delta Airlines which flies direct from Lagos to US, Etihad, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, and Emirates, for instance, all have facility for direct ticket reservations on their websites. Now, with an internet-connected device, getting a plane ticket is a piece of cake.

Also, beyond selling tickets some airlines have encroached into the travel hospitality industry which was previously exclusive to some travel agents. Going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, or the Maldives? Etihad and Emirates Airlines operate various tour packages at different times of the year. With different bouquets on offer, the packages which can sometimes be as low as N180, 000 come with return air ticket, airport pick-ups, and organised tours are often a bargain.

And because of this transparency, some frequent overseas travellers have assumed a do-it-yourself approach to arranging their travels. That is the scenario of JideAlade, also a frequent traveller.

“Everything one needs to travel is available online,” he said. “Why do I have to start paying someone to fix me visas, get me tickets or accommodation when I have access to do them myself?”

Managing director of Titlan Travels and Tours Limited, Lagos, AbiolaOlaibi said the deployment of IT in the travel industry have created a more transparent environment. “has allowed more people check the travel packages that we present to them. But on the other hand, it has in a way taken the idea where travel agents give obnoxious fares to customers because gone are the days when a travel agent can just give a fare to a customer that is travelling to New York, for instance, or Orlando. These days, customers can check for the fares and requirements. So there is really no hidden information anywhere.”

But Olaibi says the organisational prowess of travel agencies is superior to what an individual can muster. “We ensure to bring more customer service like deploying cabs for airport pick-ups and drop-offs,” he said. Also, should there be hitches requiring penalties in fares or date change of flights, Olaibi said his company tries to give the clients “the best possible rates.” This he said is “unlike what they (customers) would get if they had to go about on their own. So, even when they want to go online to book by themselves, they’ll think of added services they get from us and with that, they’d rather prefer to patronise us.”

Due to the industry competition, travel agencies now find themselves going the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. “We have to check up on our clients regularly,” Olaibi said. “We have to call them, send them text messages, send them periodic emails. All these we don’t do before.”

“We get bargains from various airlines. We try to meet with tour operators and hotels and get the best possible discount rates.”

Indeed with a plethora of travel opportunities easily available, Travel agencies are becoming innovative to distinguish themselves from the horde. One of such is also Lagos-based Maple Travels which includes cruise packages on its menu.

According to TiwaAdesemowo, Head Business Development of Maple Travels, the culture and tradition of holiday travel is changing and Nigerians are beginning to embrace “the concept of a complete holiday” rather than just visiting friends and relatives.

“Now, you have people who want visit where they have never been before, where they don’t have anybody,” she said. “In the process of doing that, they also want to fully experience whatever is available for them in that destination. We saw an opportunity to offer something that is not widespread for travellers in Nigeria.”

And though cruise liners do not come to Nigerian waters, Maple Travels offers its clients the opportunity to go on cruises which departs in other countries.

According to her, the reception has been warm. “Most of them haven’t been on a cruise before, so they like it,” she said. “And those that have gone want to go again.”

Regarding whether technology has affected corporate aspect of the travel agency business, Adesemowo said what most companies have are travel desks. “They still come to the agents or have a staff of the Agency based in their office,” she said. “It’s very difficult for them to go to buy tickets directly because that means they would be going to different airlines for different itineraries and different prices. And then, there is the invoicing aspect. When they deal with a travel agency, they invoice them after a couple of days. They (Companies) won’t have that privilege with an airline. An airline wants their money now. And a lot of companies want that invoice system. So, they still use us.”

“The people that don’t use us much are the individuals because the online presence has come in. There’s a lot of do-it-yourself going on now. You can buy your ticket online and pay in a bank. In fact, some banks like GTB do ticketing.”

So, if organising travels has become easy to become a DIY venture, why do people still patronise travel agents?

“Because, we are the professionals,” Adesemowo said. “We are the ones that are able to search for the best deals and bargains for a traveller. Travellers don’t have the time to finding the best deals. Also, if you want a total package, maybe in terms of tours, hotel bookings, airport transfers; it is advisable you use an agent so you don’t have any costly mistake. We understand how the hotels operate. In terms of hotels, we also have trade prices which are exclusive to us the agents. So, our prices are comparatively better.”

Maple Travels offer different tour packages and Adesemowo said the honeymoon exclusive packages “are the highest buyers of the cruise packages.” Some African destinations for such honeymoons also include Accra, Kenya, South Africa, Morroco, Zanzibar. “Honeymoon packages are really different,” Adesemowo said.

According to her, a three night honeymoon trip to Accra could begin from about N250, 000. Within the country, the company also operates honeymoon packages to places like Calabar and La Campaigne Tropicana in Lagos.

As the most populous black nation, Nigerians also offers a global tourism market.

So huge is the market that some Nigerian travels have started collaborating. Recently, four travel agencies – Quantum Travels Limited, Touchdown Travels, Finchglow Travels Limited and Dees Travels – merged to form Travel Investments Company (TICO). Speaking about the merger in an interview, Irene Uti-Egbeogu, the CEO of TICO said consolidation is the way forward.

“Consolidation is widely adopted in Europe, South Africa and USA,” she said. “We can say it started in mid-90s in the USA in the face of stiff competition in the American travel industry. Europe caught on not too long after but my memory serves that Asia picked up on it within months and now the rest of the world is seeing it as a viable strategy for cost reduction and profit-making. Nigeria is not exempted from the pressures characterised in global business operations and has no option but to tow the line eventually.”

According to her, the travel industry is evolving at a fast pace and ‘bringing about tighter affiliations and stronger brands.’

“In Nigeria, I believe that it will bring about efficiency in terms of the operations aspect businesses can achieve. TICO has looked into the future and seen that there is strength in number not just by statistic but by strength in competence and negotiation standpoint.”

Overall, the major difference is the economies of scales which these travel agencies enjoy from business in the aviation industry. However, bogus travel agents still exist defrauding unsuspecting travellers. Hence, there is need to be cautious in selecting a travel agency. And Olaibi offers some hints.

“It is good you a background check on any travel agency you want to deal with,” Olaibi said. “Try to check reviews online about their services. Also ensure that the agency that you’re dealing with has a physical address where you can actually trace them to.

Don’t just swallow the addresses you see online and then transmit money to just anybody you don’t know. Ensure they are traceable to the location and appraise them. Then you can actually determine whether it is good to do business with them or not. In addition, never pay money into personal accounts. Always ensure the company has corporate accounts where you make your payments to.”

 

Tips to avoid cheating ‘travel agents’

1.   Do background check on any travel

agency you intend using

2.   Verify a physical address

3.   Speak to the staff and appraise them

4.   Never pay money into a personal account.

5.   Pay monies into a corporate account

 

Lokoja is not only important in the history of Nigeria; it also played a prominent role as the first capital and the very town from where the country derived its name. Edozie Udeze who recently visited the town discovered why the indigenes still relish in the evolutionary history of the town and lots more.

DATELINE1904. Flora Shaw, a journalist and the lady friend of Lord Frederick Lugard, the colonial overlord of the Nothern and Southern Protectorates, was on a visit to Lokoja. Standing on Mount Patti, she used a binocular to view the Rivers Benue and Niger. On discovering that there was a place where the two rivers met, she exclaimed to Lugard, “Here is a name for your colonial natives. It is Niger area. Then call the country Nigeria!”

That was how the riddle of naming the new nation was resolved.

Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, remains one of the most important historical cities in Nigeria. With numerous colonial monuments and institutions erected as far back as the 1890s by the colonial overlords led by Lord Frederick Lugard, the town has today become a tourist haven to people across the globe. It is indeed a town where history beckons.

When in March, 1898, Lord Frederick Lugard was appointed the Higher Commissioner for the Northern Protectorate by the British colonial government, one of the first mandates given to him was to ensure that the necessary institutions were put in place to make Lokoja an ideal headquarters for the colonial interests in Nigeria. With this take-off, Lugard swung into action. By the time he was sworn in on January 1, 1900 as the first Governor of Northern Nigeria with Lokoja as the headquarters, he had already established offices and institutions to give vent to his position.

Although, this period was short-lived before the capital was moved to Zungeru, Niger State in 1904, there were quite enough structures erected by Lugard to make Lokoja remain up till today one of the cities with the largest number of colonial legacies in Nigeria. At the Government Reserved Area (G.R.A) in Lokoja, in 1901, Lugard built elegant staff quarters and deserving offices for colonialists who were ever eager to visit Lokoja at that time. Being a conference town, surrounded by hills and bordered to the North by both Rivers Niger and Benue, this natural fortification indeed became an irresistible lure for the people. Lugard promptly capitalised on this to expand the frontiers of the city.

Lugard and his people exploited these tendencies to be able to erect formidable structures and institutions to embellish the ideals of their presence. The town, apart from being sandwiched between the slopes of the hill range called Mountain Patti, its strategic location formed as a refuge camp for those fleeing for safety from many invading and marauding forces from the North. This was why Lugard was often quoted to have said, “Oh, here we have finally found the solace we needed, an ideal headquarters for the natives and for the festering of our rule.”

In Lokoja today, the Lord Lugard Street at the GRA has so many of such marvelous and quintessential colonial relics that once you are in town you are practically compelled to visit these places. Good examples are the current Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) headquarters in the town located at number 7B, Lord Lugard Street, GRA. The building has an endearing and irresistible pull that is too strong to resist.

Even though the NUJ and its previous occupants have refused to renovate or refurbish it due to its historical importance to the nation, Mohammed Basir, a journalist says that it is building that has withstood the passage of time and its place in the history of Nigeria cannot be overlooked. “Here is a house built in 1901 for the senior staff of the colonial team led by Lugard. More than one hundred years after, it is still solid on the ground.” Made of woods and planks, the house is sitting on an elevated platform, obviously to avoid flood and termites from attacking the wooden structures thereby endangering the lives of the colonialists who were being threatened by many challenges and disasters.

Interestingly, it is not only Nigerian journalists who are conscious of the importance of the building to Nigeria. Ezekiel Audu, 75 years old and a native of Lokoja told The Nation that as children in their younger years they used to go on an excursion to the GRA to view the house. “To us then, this was the best place to feel the impact of colonialism. We were taught in school that Lugard did not spare the natives. We were also told that he was in love with Lokoja for a number of reasons. First, Lokoja, to him and to those around him, was and is still dominated by undulating landscapes. These landscapes are broken by hills which form resistant rocks and thus Lokoja is tough to invade by anyone. But then Lugard was faced with other pressing issues which made him to quickly move to Zungeru,” Audu explained. Incessant malaria attacks and other prevalent tropical diseases such as sleeping sickness were some of the reasons for the sudden relocation to Zungeru.

Speaking to The Nation on the issue, Mr. Solomon Ibejigba, the Curator of the National Museum of Colonial History, Lokoja, explained that history will continue to beckon on Lokoja for the prominent role it played to give Nigeria not only its name as the only confluence town and Niger area (Nigeria) but a place where the white man truly discovered a town ideal for him to settle down to begin the long process of preparing the people for self-government. Even so, the building being occupied by the Museum which is 7A Lord Lugard Street is still one of the houses which he erected. Although it is the same architectural pattern and mold with that of the NUJ, it has undergone some minor refurbishing to accommodate some other issues to suit the centenary.

According to Ibejigba, “this is called museum of colonial history because the place called Lokoja played a prominent role during the colonial era. During the colonial era and even now, you can see a lot of relics depicting the period in question. The details of lots of governmental activities even before and after Lugard are located in this town. This is why the museum is richly stocked with such relics of history as a reminder to everybody about the early years of nationhood. This building we occupy is one of them,” he stressed.

The Curator further explained that the house was not originally meant to be a museum. “This was built over a hundred years ago. You can see from the structure, made of woods and resting entirely on castings that it was built to survive the weather and provide some sort of succuor to its occupants. This was a residential quarters for senior Europeans working with the colonial office then. Over time, it has become a monument and even the present day Kogi State Government House in Lokoja is called Lord Lugard House because it was erected by Lugard. So, you can see what we mean when we say that this town remains relevant in the history of Nigeria as a nation.”

A few metres away from the Museum is the Tourism Board of Kogi State. Although it is now located on Murtala Mohammed way, it was also built by Lugard. Given all these colonial legacies the local people are so proud of the town; even though they still express their concern about the neglect of some of the infrastructures by previous and current governments. “This is a town full of nostalgic feelings of what we studied in school”, so said Adaji Lukas, an Igala man who schooled in Lokoja. “But what do we see these days is the total neglect of these institutions,” he decided.

However, Ibejigba digresses a bit, “These buildings can only be maintained in a way so as not to alter their original forms. You see, the houses were built to prevent them from decaying or rotting because the River Niger was so close to this place then. There used to be plenty of flooding which could come without notice. Again there was no availability of cement. So, the white man resorted to the best technology available to him and which would equally survive the vagaries of time”

After the houses were built, they ensured that the surroundings were adorned with trees and flowers. Today, at the museum, some of these flowers and trees made of mahogany are still standing. “You discover that in all the GRAS in Nigeria, they followed same pattern. The beautification was to sooth the mood of the people who were found of sitting out under the trees. But one thing you’ve to understand very well is that the structures were deliberately meant to last a long time that even as it is now they can never collapse or cave in. The planting of both economic trees and those that provided shades goes a long way to give a glimpse into the sort of person Lugard and his people were”. Even though some of the trees have either been cut down or trimmed due to old age, Ibejigba said some have been replaced in order to help in the control of temperature.

Generally, Lokoja is hot almost all year round. It is a tropical weather and this was why they tried to replicate the metropolitan London here in Nigeria. However, due to the expansion of roads and modernity, some of the trees, especially those along the roads have been cut down. Lokoja was an ideal town to be in those days due to the professional touch of colonial architects and builders.

At the Museum are pictures of important people who played prominent roles to give Nigeria its place in History. Dating back to the period of the Lander Brothers who arrived Nigeria in 1832, the museum carefully detailed the pictures to depict events that appeal to the public. After the Lander Brothers was Macgregor Laird whose expedition extensively expanded the frontiers of Nigeria in 1833. In 1900, Tubman Goldier handed over to Lord Lugard with the express wish to accelerate progress for the people. “All these pictures adorn the gallery as the necessary benchmark to tell the story,” he stressed. From the leaders of the nation in the early years of statehood through the years of the military to what we have today, the explicit exposures of the pictures are remarkable. This is why, according to the curator, visitors, both local and international troop, to the museum to have a feel of the historical moments. “Even researchers come to make their point of reference”, he said.

Ibejigba also recalled how Lugard used his military prowess and superiority to overcome all the surrounding towns that refused to co-operate with him. He did that is far as Sokoto, Kabba, Igalaland and beyond. This was why he quickly built a military hospital in 1904. This was followed immediately by a prison yard where he kept all the people who proved stubborn to his administration. All these are still standing today in Lokoja. After that the Nupe people who were on the Mount Patti were driven down to encourage Lugard feel safe in his small resort located on the mountain.”

Also, the first primary school in Northern Nigeria was built in Lokoja. This was in 1906. In 1904, the first hospital was built where the Kogi State Council for Arts has its offices at the present. Throwing more light on these, the Artistic director of the Council, Itodo Joseph Daniel said that due to the strategic location of the town, food items and finished products arrived the town and were distributed to other towns and villages in the hinterland. There was no motor road and so this was why the movement on the Rivers Niger and Benue became vital to the colonial economy. “This premises we have now as our headquarters happened to be the first hospital in Northern Nigeria. You can even see the inscription on the wall over their indicating that that was the staff quarters of the doctors. It was built in 1904 by the administration of Lugard to accommodate the doctors”.

Included in the hospital were out- patient wards and emergency department. A bit away from there was the mortuary which has been renovated and turned into an art gallery. Today, the building has been modernised to house the performing arts department. The hospital had a diagnostic room too. That one has been pulled down because it was no longer relevant. “But to me, some of these institutions should not be destroyed but kept for posterity,” Daniel disclosed.

In 1994, the Arts Council took over the old hospital building which is located just on the middle of Murtala Mohammed way in the city. “We didn’t have a rehearsal center and therefore the government gave us this place,” Daniel explained.

In order to cement the importance of the place in the annals of Nigeria, the National Troupe of Nigeria was compelled to perform in front of the Council during its three-state tour. “This was to show the world that we cannot forget the place of this hospital which is now the headquarters of the Art Council in Kogi State. It was a place that saved the lives of many people in those days”, so said Akin Adejuwon, the Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, “We came here first in our three  state performance tour because in the celebration of the centenary, Lokoja is very important to the people of Nigeria. Arts, as you can see, also thrive in this city. They are all parts of the early attractions of colonialism for which this town played a key role. The aura and ambience of this city helped to provide the people the necessary euphoria to agitate for freedom,” Adejuwon