Ngozi
Ngoka, the CEO, Zigona Travel is passionate about the travel trade
business . As the Publicity Secretary of the National Association of
Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), she believes that the internet can’t
take the place of a travel agent.
In
this interview, she talks about the travel trade business in this
country and other issues relating to tourism. Here is an excerpt by JIMOH BABATUNDE
On the
challenges of marketing Nigeria as a leisure destination
Before you
can market a product, the product first of all, needs to be properly
packaged and branded. We need to develop a strong, recognized and
consistent brand and image for Nigeria before we can promote it as a
Tourist Destination.
The
Nigerian .Brand should be based on our values and build upon what
makes us different or our unique selling point. Another challenge we
face is that we do not currently have a coordinated and consistent
approach to positioning and promoting Nigeria as a destination.
Although
we have quite a few tourism initiatives in Nigeria, some of which
have evolved without any planning, we need to be aware that effective
destination management relies on an iterative and continual planning
process that integrates tourism into our country's social, economic
and environmental aspirations. Policies need to be put in place to
harness all the Tourism initiatives
We
currently have, our hotels are not properly rated and strict
standards are not enforced. Our airports and transportation systems
need to also be standardized. Strategic planning for tourism must be
developed and should align and integrate with national and state
policy and plans. When all these measures are adequately addressed,
we can then talk about marketing.
On
in-bound travel into Nigeria
Nigerian
inbound tourism is mostly skewed towards business travelers. Lately,
however, the Abuja and Calabar carnivals are beginning to attract
visitors from outside the country. But these are just a little
fraction of our Tourism potential as a country. We need to look at
other areas such as Religious and Cultural institutions and see how
we can secure and improve on their locations in order to attract more
tourists.
On
Nigeria participation at travel fairs
I think
that Nigeria should suspend further participation in any Tourism expo
outside our shores until we have improved upon what we have to
showcase to the outside world. We need to channel our resources
towards creating and sustaining our own brand before we showcase it
to the outside world.
Home grown
trade shows like Akwaaba Travel Market, which is held yearly in
Nigeria should' also be encouraged so that they are able to bring
Tourism buyers into the country.
On what
the country needs to develop the tourism industry
We need to
develop on our existing Tourism Policy at the national and state
levels in order to provide a framework for tourism development and
management in Nigeria. In doing this, we should identify the
different tourism stakeholders and understand the linkages between
decision making and government institutions and the tourism plans at
the national, state and local government levels.
We also
have to consider other relevant plans such as economic development,
infrastructure, environment, sport, culture and of course, transport,
tourism involves a complex interaction between all these sectors
Furthermore,
strong public /private sector partnerships are essential to providing
the tourism
industry with the opportunity to influence and inform tourism policy
and planning and also provide the certainty needed to encourage
investment in the sector.
I am
pretty confident however, that
the
current leadership at the Ministry of culture and Tourism are on top
of all these as we are already seeing some changes.
On the
relevancies of travel agents in age of ICT
There are
several good reasons why you should use a travel agent but the bottom
line is that travel agents know much more than you can possibly learn
after a few hours of looking for deals on the web.
We are
better connected and have access to benefits you can't possibly get
on line; and the best part is
that
travel agents provide you with a safety net during your trip that you
simply can't get by booking on line. If
you
ever had an emergency while on a trip, one can only hope that you
made your travel plans through your travel agent.
To be
honest, not everyone needs a travel agent these days. If you need a
cheap flight and accommodation and don't really care much about
comfort, you can easily find that on line.
If you are
flying in premium class (or private jet); staying in 4 or 5 star
accommodation, planning complicated itineraries with multiple stops,
planning complex airline routings or taking any trips using
guides/drivers or local experts, any trip to a destination where you
do not already know, or any cultural travel or safaris, you would be
making a
costly
mistake not to use a travel agent.
When I say
travel agent, I mean real professionals. The best travel agents are
essentially travel consultants because it is their advice, expertise
and connections that are of value, not the ability to print air
tickets for you.
Some of us
have become hyper specialized and in some cases like booking a
cruise, golf vacation, destination event planning, you will want to
seek out a niche specialist. But for most travelers,
it is
better to find an excellent travel consultant and stick with them,
because a big part of the equation is that we get to know you, your
likes and dislikes and make suggestions accordingly.
Among the
many advantages which agents bring to the table is
personal connections
and clout. A
number
of our agents are very well traveled and know a lot of people in the
travel and tourism business.
Consequently,
we
are able
to get our customers rare deals at very short
notice even when
the facility on demand is "sold out". Also your agent books
lots and lots
of
rooms, tickets and tours so the airlines and hotel management are
bound to bend over backwards to please
them.
On how
the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies {NANTA) has been
able to protect the interest members
NANTA as a
body
has ensured that many agents that would have closed shop by now, have
remained in business by ensuring the introduction of the Billing
Settlement Plan (BSP) into the Nigerian market.
Those of
us who have been in the business for some time now, know how
difficult it was to be a travel agent in the past, With the BSP,
things are so much easier.
NANTA is
also
working
with our relevant trade partners to introduce more insurance
companies into the scheme. Last year, we negotiated with our
principles to allow our members to choose between Default Insurance
Policy and Bank guarantee options for BSP. All these are our more
recent achievements.
We have
also engaged Airlines , sometimes with the help of the NCAA, when the
former have engaged in unfair practices like publishing disparate
fares on line and in the GDS's Fare disparity portends a huge problem
for
our
members because our customers never understand why they can obtain
disparate fares from the agent/airline office/on line.
We even
took our case to the
National
Assemble, where we made useful presentation to
the
Senate Committee on Aviation. NANTA has set up a monitoring committee
to ensure that all the airlines comply.
All our
activities
are aimed at creating an enabling environment for our member's
businesses to prosper. We are creating a brand that will make our
members the preferred choice for travellers. Our brand is
now
known and valued for providing quality and reliable service.
On fake
travel agents and what is NANTA is doing to forestall future
occurrence
Yes, we
issued a press statement after series of reports had gone out in the
electronic and print media about how some "travel agents"
had collected money from intending hajj pilgrims under false
pretences and was now at large.
We
informed the general public that all legitimate Travel Agencies are
registered with the National association of Nigeria Travel Agencies
(NANTA). We also advised the general public to visit the website of
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in order to ascertain
the authentic list of Licensed Tour Operators for Hajj and Umrah.
NANTA blacklists Travel Agencies that default on their
responsibilities to passengers, airlines and financial institutions
and actively conducts periodic checks on all registered Travel
Agencies.
No comments:
Post a Comment