Nigeria with a population of about 160 million is in
western part of Africa. A sub-Sahara African country blessed with both human and
natural resources.
Nigeria has 5 operational International airports, with
Lagos airport as the second busiest airport in Africa and accommodating the
major airlines in the world. There is direct flight from Nigeria to Morocco,
Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Turkey, South-Africa, England, United
Arab Emirate, France, Netherlands, Qatar, Germany and some more; and with a
stopover or two, you can travel to any part of the world from Nigeria! So, what
are you waiting for?
Statistics reveal that 90% of Nigerian travelers travel
for businesses, exhibitions and conferences, while a meager 10% of them travel
for holidays and tours. It is not that Nigerians do not like to travel; so many
factors are keeping the majority back from exploring the world. Some of them
are highlighted below:
Economic Situation
/ Cost of Travelling:
Most Nigerians are low income earners, a lot of people
are underemployed, and people are battling to meet up with the necessities of
life and for this, travelling abroad for holiday is a luxury. We cannot compare
Nigeria and some other developing countries with the developed nations in terms
of income and earnings.
Embassies Denying
Visa Applications:
A lot of Nigerians who have genuine reasons for travelling
have been denied entry visa by the embassies and consulates of the various
foreign countries in Nigeria. This problem has to do with the improper ways of
assessing applications. One little error (even in filling application form would
not be verified) leads to outright denial. Everybody is talking about the image
of Nigeria/Nigerians abroad, cases of abscondment is reported to be rampant and
the embassies are being over protective of their countries/economies. In
future, we will need to develop a proposal to the embassies to allow the travel
agents be part of the visa processing, the agencies who have now been turned to
mere ticketing offices would be saddled with the tasks of due verifications of
information supplied by applicants. This would be done in an agreed time frame.
Employers:
It is worthy of note, that the few employers who pay good
wages utilizes the time of their employees to the fullest, to the extent that
they offer to pay cash in lieu of annual leave. In this scenario, there is
enough money, but there is little or no time at all to go on vacation.
Lack of Travel
information and Packages:
A lot of people who are willing and able to travel in
terms of affordability often do not even hear of travel deals and packages,
some of them are in the informal sector where they hardly make use of the print
and electronic media, another set are those who believe travelling is for
people who are relocating from the country for greener pastures overseas. They don’t
really believe one can go to other country just to spend time and come back. In
this case, a lot of work still needs to be done to sizzle them and arouse their
interest.
Fear:
Aviophobia or aviatophobia (fear of flying) is common not only in Nigeria but all over the
world. These people don’t fly; though the statistics is not available right
now, but it is a disadvantage to the business of travel and tour in Nigeria.
Frustration in
getting Required Documents:
Some embassies will ask applicants to get tax clearance
certificates, yellow fever immunization card, bank statement, letter from employer;
copies of pay slip and so on. There is always this red tapism and bureaucracies
surrounding the processing of these documents, frustration and ill-patient
often make people look for alternative which at the end affect their applications
negatively. Some people get tired halfway, when getting the documents is next
to impossible. We must put structures in place, for instance, tax payers should
be able to get clearance certificate as and when needed, banks, hospitals,
employers should be careful and timely in granting requests that bother on
travelling.
Stiff and Unjust
Requirements;
Holiday makers get frustrated when you ask them to pay
N750,000 bond to get a visa to a particular country. If this is not nipped in
the bud, other embassies will come up with policies that are capable of killing
the travelling and tour business.
Some Nigerian travels agencies have come up with
initiatives to encourage holidaying and vacations, they have come up with
packages that allow you to pay over a period of time, they have established links
with the best travel companies in the world, through them you can enjoy your
holiday and tours in about 285 resorts in Africa and 3,000 resorts in the rest
of the world. They help you to book for your hotel/resort, airport transfer, buy
your air-ticket, and give useful visa application assistance.
Some of the international airlines berthing in Nigeria
daily are: Air France, KLM, Turkish Airline, Kenya Airline, Royal Air Maroc,
South Africa Airline, Etihad Airways, Emirate Airline, Qatari Airline,
Lufthansa, Arik Airline, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Iberial,
Delta Airline, Eqypt Air, Ethiopian Airline, AirRwanda, etc.
WALE is the CEO of, VOXDEI TRADE PROMOTIONS AND TRAVELS
LTD
For enquiries and business, contact us via:
voxdeitp@gmail.com, +2347036308255
follow us on twitter: @TravelsNaija
