in , , , ,

Nuggets from Goge Africa’s Webinar

Goge Africa Webinar

Adjusting to the challenges of international travel hiccups post-Covid-19 requires a look inward by tourism practitioners. Developing domestic tourism and attracting local and international tourism traffic is an imperative for quick recovery of the economy. While government support is necessary, the attention of the government can only be attracted to the sector through collaborative effort of all stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in tourism sector. This necessity, is what Goge Africa has stimulated by setting the process for ACTION! Below are nuggets from the conference proffered by the speakers.

Alhaji Saleh Rabo – President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN).

A consummate tourism practitioner with stint across the public and private sector under his belt, rising through the ranks to head what is today, the umbrella body of all tourism practitioners in Nigeria. Rabo bares his mind on the responsibility of the public and private sector in developing Nigeria tourism.

TOPIC:  Enabling Environment for Investment in Domestic Tourism.
Some excerpt from his presentation:

“If you take Nigeria as a country, each Village has a product that it can offer.”

“If we keep waiting for the government, nothing is going to happen.”

“According to a recent report published by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), domestic tourism accounts for 73% of total travel spending globally.”

“Some of the things we need to put in place to create an enabling environment include: improved infrastructure, government policies, security, destination marketing, stakeholder collaboration, prioritizing domestic tourism.”

“The word is Nigeria, and so it’s important to change perceptions. You can’t sell Nigeria until we change the perceptions.”

Mr. Alexander Nwuba – President of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPA).  Advisory Board Member of the Africa Association of Hospitality Professionals (AAHP), Chairman of the West African Fashion Council (WAFC), Tourism Consultant. Mr Alex has also consulted for several countries around the world on tourism. A strategic team leader who has navigated the waters of birthing and nurturing enterprises unto prosperity. Backed by statistics, he offered participants insights on the opportunities inherent in the tourism transport clime.

TOPIC: – Investment Opportunities in Air Transport, Tourism & Hospitality.

Here are some excerpts:

“You won’t believe it, but with 5 million naira, the cost of a tokunbo car, you can invest in an aircraft for transporting tourists.”

“Global Travel/Tourism has increased by 25% over the past five years and has a total annual economic impact of $7.2tn.”

“We cannot use the excuse or sell to the market that theft is the reason why tourists cannot come to Nigeria”

“In 2018, travel and tourism contributed only 5% to Nigeria’s GDP and approximately 1.6% of total employment.”

“Tourism education is important. Anybody that has been to Jamaica knows that every single Jamaican understands the role that Tourists play in their economy.”

“There are more religious tourists in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world.”

Mr. Shina Atilola – Head of Retail & Consumer Banking, Sterling Bank Plc.

TOPIC: Collaboration for Tourism and Economic Development.

Here are some excerpts from his presentation:

“Most financial institutions in Nigeria make a lot of mistakes and errors by taking funds to sectors that we don’t know (e.g. oil and gas), and consequently get our fingers burnt.”

“Sterling bank is taking a different approach – adopting steps from the ‘HEARTT’ of Sterling, which speaks to key sectors of the economy that we strongly believe are growth sectors, sectors that will create employment and help the economy to grow.”

“Sterling’s HEARTT acronym stands for – Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Transport, Technology and Tourism.”

“4 action items for tourism industry stakeholders – (1) work on branding and communication, (2) explore marketing via web/digital and virtual reality, (3) deliberate collaboration, and (4) working with State Governments.”

“How do we repackage the brand called Nigeria?”

Mr. Adekunle Adebiyi – Chief Sales & Distribution Officer at MTN Nigeria.

TOPIC:  Corporate Partnership to Boost Tourism in Nigeria.

Here are some excerpts from his presentation:

“You’ve heard stories around why Government cannot do it alone. Government not doing it alone is across all facets of our life – roads, water, etc. I think it’s high time the private organisations rose up to support.”

“MTN supports a minimum of 65 festivals annually across the length and breadth of Nigeria.”

“The benefits to Corporate Organisations in tourism are huge, for example the MTN Kulturefest platform helped MTN to identify communities which were previously unknown for network roll-out.”

“If you do not listen to what is happening in Nigeria by Nigerians you will always have a negative view of Nigeria!”

Dr. (HC) Arc. Raphael Eluemuno Ajalie – Co-Founder Reocomm Group/Foundation. Member of Parliament State of the African Diaspora, Vice President Project Management, Global Goodwill Ambassadors, USA. He is a Professional Member of the British Computer Society (BCS), Member of International Association of Engineers (IAENG). Raphael, through his affiliations with several organizations, seeks the empowerment of women in Africa, with special focus on tourism.

TOPIC: Diaspora Collaboration for Tourism and Economic Development. Here are some excerpts from his presentation:

“Tourism has always been a beautiful thing God has given to us.”

“I’ve seen a lot of Nigerians investing in Maldives, Seychelles, why can’t we do the same for Nigeria?”

“Why is it that the U.S. Media touches the heart of people more than the Nigerian Media? It’s because the U.S. Media gives positive vibes of the U.S.”

“Everybody is talking about tourism, aviation, etc but people forget about the women empowerment part of it. We need to be able to develop women, so that more women will come into the tourism business.”

“We have a team of investors who say they want to invest $40bn from the U.S. building formula 1 race track in Zimbabwe on Victoria Falls, why not Nigeria?”

“We need to be strong to attract these investors to bring their money, because the reality is this, tourism is a good business but it depends on how we package it.”

“We’re buying houses in Maldives, we’re victims of it, we’re the ones who also invest in hotels in Mauritius, Madagascar and co., but how many of us are ready to invest in Nigeria?”

Did you miss the first series of the conference don’t worry, you can view the full recording on our YouTube Channel (GogeAfricaTV) >>> https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rf8RofW2Pt4

Register for Series 02 here to get an invite 👉 https://goge.tv/3gZnrFG
or watch the streaming feed on-line.

What do you think?

Written by Martin Eze

Comments

Leave a Reply

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

    Loading…

    0

    Rwanda Announces Reopening of Tourism

    Tourism Stakeholders to Access #5Billion, Say’s Sterling Bank