The Nation Newspaper

Tag: travellers

  • Luggage: Best choice for travellers

    Luggage: Best choice for travellers

    Travelling at week ends is like a norm, not only by Nigerians but by people all over the world. To schedule long and short distance journey, the luggage is said to be most convenient. Luggage happen to be the most important item in the shopping list of travellers in preparation for a journey. Travel bags generally have revolutionised over the years as civilisation has firmly rooted itself in the country. Before civilisation, wrappers from cloth materials were used as bags to carry personal belongings when embarking on a journey, after which the leather travel bag was introduced.

    Years later, the popular ‘Ghana-must-go’ bag was introduced in the 80’s when Ghanian immigrants were sent back to their country. In the heat of the moment, they made use of big sack bags (popularly known as ‘Ghana-must-go’) to pack their belongings, thereby creating a trend Nigerians came to accept and use as their travel bags. It was later improved on to appear in different patterns, designs and sizes till date.

    A luggage retailer simply known as Favour own a shop in Oshodi called  Nwaya   she said: “Luggage are more sophiticated, stronger and in vouge compare to Ghana-must-go’ bags ”.

    Mr Ayo Coker, a staff of Samuel Adegboyega University (S.A.U.) said, “I prefer sophisticated luggage to ‘Ghana-must-go’ because I feel they are more secure and compact, particularly, the medium sized luggage for my long distance journey”.

    Females,who are known to have a lot of personal belongings, constitute the larger percentage of customers in the luggage business because it is fashionable, comes in different colours and has enough space making it the most preferred’.  Another retailer,Tochukwu, a seller of luggage told the Nation Shopping that luggage sell more because of their durability.

    “I have more female customers” , “My customers prefer luggage to ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags because it is fine and durable”, he said.

    Unisex luggage are also available, thereby accommodating the male counterparts  in its demand. Children are also not left out as luggage are also designed with cartoon heroes. Also, some distinctive qualities are an additional advantage to attract target customer.

    Apart from its durability, de sign, convenience and space, it  is also affordable. The prices  vary based on their sizes and quality. A small size luggage cost  N2500, the medium size costs N4000, N3000, N2500  while the big sizes sell for  N6500 and N6000.

    Luggage are widely distributed in the country and can be  easily bought from  neighbourhood stores around. The internet is another easier platform to purchase any luggage of choice.

  • FAAN advises travellers

    FAAN advises travellers

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday urged air travellers to make early preparations for their travel during the Eid-el-Fitri (Sallah) celebration.

    The agency said this was to avoid the rush that usually takes place at major airports across the country.

    Airports across the country usually witness a huge volume of passenger traffic during holidays due to increased movements of passengers to and from different countries.

    In a statement yesterday by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr Yakubu Dati, FAAN urged travellers to leave home early during the period to confirm their tickets and complete other pre-boarding formalities in good time.

    This, Dati said, had become imperative because of the heavy vehicular movements on the roads to the airport terminals.

    It said such movements may make some passengers to miss their flights.

    FAAN said: “We also wish to advise vehicle owners to use our designated car parks when visiting the airports – for business or pleasure.”

  • Lufthansa starts new era

    Lufthansa starts new era

    For Nigerian travellers and the travellers all over the world that patronize the German airline, Lufthansa, a chapter in their travel experience will be opened as the airline starts receiving bookings for its latest product. The product is the newly developed Premium Economy Class.

    However, even though bookings have begun, travellers would have to wait until November to experience the new product. For Nigerian travellers, it might not be long before they will experience the new products being part of the long haul routes the new products will be deployed to.

    The new premium class has comfortable new seats and up to 50 per cent more room than the economy class seats.

    Premium Economy Class was presented to the public in March during the 2014 ITB-Berlin, and many travellers are looking forward to the new product. The Premium Economy Class would initially be fitted on the airline’s  Boeing 747-8. The new seats will gradually be fitted on the entire long-haul fleet within 12 months.

    “Our Premium Economy Class will create a completely new travel experience that combines affordability with greater comfort. The seats offer up to 50 per cent more room than Economy Class and will position us in a premium segment within the international competitive environment,” said Jens Bischof, CCO & member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board in charge of Sales, Product and Marketing, during a press conference at the Lufthansa stand in Hall 25.

    The new product will enable Lufthansa to meet the requirements of many business and private passengers who travel with other airlines in a similar travel class or who fly Economy Class due to travel specifications. Following the introduction of its new full-flat Business Class, Lufthansa created a much wider gap between Economy and Business Classes. As a result, there is now room for its new Premium Economy Class, which offers considerably more space and comfort as well as many additional product features, but is closer to Economy Class than Business Class in terms of its average prices. The move also means that Lufthansa is introducing a completely new travel class for the first time in 35 years.

    “The design and features of the new seat in particular are based on extensive passenger surveys and workshops with sales partners – a process that has been successfully used at Lufthansa. Following the upgrade of our First and Business Class, the installation of 3,600 seats on all 106 of our long-haul aircraft in just one year will mean another step towards becoming a five-star airline,” continued Bischof. “We expect to see more than 1.5 million passengers per year in our new Premium Economy Class.”

    The  seats were designed in partnership with the company müller/romca Industrial Design in Kiel and produced by the seat manufacturer ZIM Flugsitz near Lake Constance. Depending on the aircraft type, they are up to 3 centimetres wider and provide greater privacy as well as approximately 10 centimetres more room at the side thanks to each seat having its own wide armrest and a centre console between the seats.

    The back rest can be reclined further and the seat pitch is a significantly more spacious 38 inches, or 97 centimetres. As a result, passengers have around one-and-a-half times as much room as Economy Class.

    The head rests can be set to the exact height desired and folded at the sides for added comfort and support. Height-adjustable foot rests from the second row back and – for technical reasons – leg supports with an integrated foot rest in the first row provide extra comfort. Practical features around the seats such as a bottle holder, electrical socket and lots of storage space for passengers’ belongings also help to ensure a relaxed and pleasant journey.

    With a baggage allowance of two items weighing up to 23 kilogrammes each, passengers can take twice as much free luggage with them compared with Economy Class. For an extra EUR 25, passengers can also enjoy the comfort of the Lufthansa Business Lounges before their departure. Lounges were previously only open to status customers and are otherwise unavailable on a paying basis.           Check-in and boarding procedures as well as hand luggage regulations are the same as in Economy Class.

    An enhanced service awaits Premium Economy passengers on board. They are greeted with a welcome drink and will find their own water bottle as well as a high-quality amenity kit with practical travel accessories at their seat. Meals are presented on menus commensurate with the new travel class and served on porcelain tableware.

    Passengers can navigate the extensive in-flight entertainment programme using their own touchscreen monitor on the seat in front of them. This can also be done using a remote control, which serves as a controller for video games as well. The screens are 11 to 12 inches (28 to 30 centimetres), which makes them at least 2 inches bigger than the screens in Economy Class, depending on the aircraft type. A wide selection of magazines and newspapers completes the range of entertainment on offer.

    Up to 52 seats, depending on aircraft type, and attractive pricing Lufthansa Premium Economy Class is located within the cabin as a clearly identifiable separate compartment between Business and Economy Class.      It has a high-quality design and contains between 21 and 52 seats, depending on the aircraft type.         Installation of the new travel class, which is to be carried out on a gradual basis, sub-fleet by sub-fleet, will start this autumn and finish in summer 2015. The first sub-fleet to be fitted with the new seats will be the Boeing 747-8.

    Ticket prices in the new Premium Economy Class will be closer to Economy Class than Business Class – a return flight across the North Atlantic or to Asia will cost an additional EUR 600 on average.

    The introduction of Premium Economy Class will complement the many improvements that Lufthansa plans to make in all classes on board and on the ground by 2015. By this point in time, the entire long-haul fleet will have the new First and Business Class – which will involve the installation of 7,000 new seats on the company’s aircraft.    Apart from the interior of the cabins, services on board and on the ground are also being enhanced. The goal is to demonstrate to an even greater degree the qualities of being a dedicated host with a keen understanding of service and hospitality.

  • Travellers stranded on East/West highway

    Thousands of travellers on the busy Port Harcourt-Warri axis of the East-West highway were stranded for several hours yesterday when a section of the road gave way near Patani in Delta State.

    It was learnt that the section of the road was washed away by a heavy rain on Sunday night.

    Angry motorists and their passengers blamed their fates on perceived inefficiency of the contractor handling the road project and the Federal Government.

    Sources on the scene told our reporter that traffic started building up as early as 5am when the first set of vehicles reached the failed portion.

    Those desperate to get to their destinations were forced to walk several miles through the failed section of the road.

    Mr. Eghosa Osayande, a worker with Julius Berger Nigeria, told our reporter that he spent several hours there on his way from Port Harcourt to Warri.

    “I arrived there at 7:24am. I had to leave the Agofure (commercial) bus at 9:30am to where I could get a car to Ughelli,” he said in a telephone conversation.

    Eghosa later got to Warri at about 1pm, over seven hours after he left Port Harcourt.

    Others, particularly those who drove their own cars, were not so lucky as most of them were still on the scene on Monday evening.

     

  • Remlords wins Travellers’ Award

    At the Abuja Bantaba event, Remlords Tours received the award for the best ground handler in Nigeria. The award was in recognition of the pace setting effort of its domestic tourism business,while most operators concentrated on outbound tours.

    In the past one year, Remlords Global Satellite Account ( GSA) for Arik Air in Calabar launched an online portal for domestic tourism with Cross River as a pivot. The portal, “Experience Cross River”, has been driving tourists into Cross River and its environs.

    As destination managers, Remlords markets Cross River State with its endowed rich cultural heritage. The major focus is the Obudu Mountain Resort which is the winner of the Naija 7 Wonders. Remlords promotes one of Cross River State largest tourism events – The Carnival Calabar, Africa’s largest street party.

    As the best ground handler in Nigeria,Remlords has the best airport pick-up and drop-off service in the major airports with choice cars to meet clients’ choices, styles and budgets. They also offer inter-city and intra-city car hire services for both individuals and corporate organizations in Lagos, Abuja, Warri, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Calabar.

    While receiving the award in Abuja, the Chairman of Remlords who also is the National President of the National Association of Tour Operators, NATOP, had this to say.” We are very happy to be recognised for what we have been doing. The success of our project and its acceptance gives us joy.Experience Cross River is an online travel portal giving direct access to bookings and payments to hotels, airlines, tour packages and car hire service.”

    In partnership with organizations such as Aero Contractors, Arik, Naija 7 Wonders, NDTC, Cross River Hoteliers’ Association, Obudu Mountain Resort and so on, we have recorded over 2,000 tourist arrivals and over 500 international visitors to Cross River State in just a year.

    As the lead marketer of Obudu Mountain Resort, Experience Cross River takes care of clients’ needs at the most affordable rate with discount covering accommodation, ground transport, tour and so on.

    Experience Cross River, within the space of a year, plays host as organizing company to several conferences and international workshops among which was the 6th AMAGE (African Middle East Association of Gastroenterology).

    With strong partnership with major hotels in Calabar with international standard services, Experience Cross River gives amazing discount on hotel bookings in Cross River State.

    Moreso, the presence of Experience Cross River is mostly felt from arrival at the airport with well-trained meet-and-greet personnel and well-trained chauffeurs with the UN Decade of Safety Certificate.”

     

  • Travellers’ Award makes a comeback

    Travellers’ Award makes a comeback

    Six years after the last Travellers’ Award was held in Lagos, the 11th edition of the award of excellence for the travel industry is back.

    Travellers’ Award was last held in 2007 at the 2nd edition of the Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos. After that edition, the organizers of the award rested it because of the maturity of the travel environment then.

    Ikechi Uko, the publisher of ATQ magazine, organizers of the award, said he decided to rest the award after discovering that the same set of people had been winning it. He said with the entrance of the top international hospitality brands into the Nigerian market in the last couple of years and other positive developments in the industry, his company decided to bring back the award.

    The award was set up in 1996 by then Travellers’ Magazine to reward annually major players in the industry as a way of enhancing the growth of travel and tourism in Nigeria with the vision of “promoting excellence in travels”.

    Usually well attended by airline and hotel general managers in Nigeria, it had been graced by ministers and commissioners of tourism in Nigeria. Travellers’ Award gave birth to Akwaaba at its 9th edition.

    This year’s edition of Travellers’ Award will hold in Abuja on July 5 during the Abuja Bantaba exhibition and workshop. It was last held in Abuja at the Hilton Hotel in 2003, the last outing of Boma Bromillow Jack as Minister of Tourism.

    There will be awards for the best hotel in Nigeria, best airline, best restaurant, travel agent, tour operator, journalist and state government.

    People can vote online on naija7wonders website, atqnews website or African travel markets website or can send their nominations of the 10 best hotels in Nigeria and their favourite airline or restaurant in Nigeria to the travellerng@yahoo.co.uk. The voting ends on June 20.

  • Travellers to forfeit undeclared cash at airports, borders, others

    Travellers to forfeit undeclared cash at airports, borders, others

    All undeclared currencies will, hence forth, be forfeited to the Federal Government by travellers.

    Before now, the owners only lost 25 per cent of such money when caught.

    Following an amendment of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act (MLPA) 2011, the Customs has been empowered to ‘arrest’ undeclared currencies at sea ports, airports, and land border stations.

    The Customs, investigation revealed, has directed its officers to enforce the new law so as to meet its N1.5 trillion revenue target for this year.

    Customs Comptroller-General Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi , sources said, has directed that the law be enforced to sanitise the border posts.

    Customs, in a March 4 circular signed by Tahir Musa directed all Deputy Comptrollers-General, Assistant Comptrollers-General, Customs Area Controllers (CACs), and Heads of Units, to seize the cash that is not declared by the people who are travelling.

    The document entitled: Amendment of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 read in part:

    “I am directed to inform all officers of the Service that Sect. 2 (5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, (MLPA) 2011 has been amended.

    “All officers of the Service are by this circular to note that the previous penalty of ‘forfeiture of nothing less than 25 per cent of the undeclared currency’ at all our entry/exit points has been changed to outright forfeiture, on conviction, with the deletion of the phrase ‘not less than 25 per cent of undeclared currency.

    “You are to give this circular the widest circulation.”

    Sources said anybody who fails to declare all his currency to the Customs while travelling out of the country either through the seaports, airports, and land border stations would be seized as it is against Part 1, Section 2 (3) of Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011.

  • Visa canvasses more cash-less banking for travellers

    Visa canvasses more cash-less banking for travellers

    Visa, the global electronic payments company, has called for an improved use of e-payment products by business travelers both within and outside the country.

    Speaking at the BT Africa West Africa Expo and Conference in Lagos, Country Manager for Visa West Africa, Ade Ashaye, said the firm is committed to helping the country achieve its cash-less banking initiative.

    “Visa is committed to helping move Nigeria to a cashless economy and share some of the benefits of secure electronic payments within the industry.”

    The conference was hosted in association with Future Group’s Business Traveller Africa. He said Nigeria is growing as a destination for both leisure and business travel and rise in spending is a credit to the efforts of those promoting Nigeria as a tourist destination.

    According to VisaVue Travel data, Nigeria’s top three source markets of spend on Visa cards were the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa. Visa cardholders from these three markets account for 60.1 per cent of all total spending by international Visa cardholders in Nigeria.

    “What was great to see was the various players in West African business travel coming together under one roof, debating the issues, looking for solutions and engaging with existing and potential clients,” said Dylan Rogers, of Business Traveller Africa.

     

  • ‘Xmas: Police reassure travellers on security

    •Wada urges unity

    The Kogi State Police Command yesterday reassured travellers in the south and western part of Lokoja, the state capital, of security during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

    Commissioner of Police Muhammed Musa Katsina, in a chat with The Nation, said people are safe to travel in the state at any time of the day as security personnel have been stationed at strategic areas on the highways.

    He said: “I urge travellers not to be afraid of plying the roads. We have stationed well-armed men to provide security on the highways. They can travel during the day and night. There is no cause for alarm.”

    Katsina said his command has prepared for the Yuletide. “This is why there has not been armed robbery in the state,” he added.

    On the metropolitan security, Katsina said he has set up a security team, known as cub-web, to arrest criminals.

    He congratulated the indigenes, especially Christians, on the Christmas and New Year festivities, urging them to go about the celebration without harassment.

    The police command had earlier warned against the throwing of banger, vowing to penalise anyone that flouted the order.

    Governor Idris Wada has enjoined Nigerians to be united.

    In his Christmas and New Year message on Monday, he congratulated Kogi State indigenes and other Nigerians, especially the Christian community, for witnessing the occasion.

    Wada said: “It is my prayer that the New Year will usher in a season of peace, security, joy and prosperity.

    “For us as a government, this year’s celebration is unique. It is the first Christmas and New Year season our administration is marking.

    “I hail the indigenes and residents for the orderliness and peace in our state.

    “Your support and cooperation have ensured the progress achieved by our government.”

    The governor urged Nigerians to pray for the country for protection and blessings,

    “As we go into the New Year, government will continue the execution of programmes that will set free our society from the shackles of despair and poverty,” he said.

     

  • Sallah: Osun offers free train ride to travellers

    The Osun State Government is offering a free train ride from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states to Osun State and vice versa during the Eid-il Kabir celebration.

    The Ministry of Commerce and Cooperatives said the free ride would begin on Thursday and end on Sunday.

    Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperatives Ismail Alagbada said the train would leave Lagos for Osogbo, the state capital, by 9am daily.

    It will leave Osogbo for Lagos on Saturday and Sunday by 10am.

    Alagbada said the free ride would make the trips “stress-free” for the people.

    He said: “This gesture is from the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration to people who intend to come home during the festive period. The free train ride started last year and has become a regular gesture from the government during Christian and Muslim festivals. This administration wants transportation comfort for its people, who hitherto encountered hardship and fare hike during the rush period.”

    The commissioner urged travellers to make good use of the opportunity.