NAN-ELS -6
Travel
By Taiye Baiyerohi
Lagos, June 13, 2017 (NAN) Africans must cultivate the habit of travelling within the continental to boost its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fame and cultural values.
Mr Ikechi Uko, the winner of the 2016 MICE East Africa’s Tourism and Hospitality Personality Award, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that it would further promote the continent’s tourism sector.
Uko, the organiser of the Akwaaba African Travel Market annual exhibitions, spoke to NAN after his return from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he received the award on June 9.
NAN reports that the Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Tourism Organisation, Yohannes Tilah presented the award to Uko which was part of the 2017 MICE East Africa Forum and Expo.
Uko said that Africans spending their monies within the continental would help them to better appreciate the tourism potentialities in Africa.
Similarly, he said that Africans would be fortifying their individual country’s corporate image through such intra- continental travel arrangements.
Uko said that he had been advising Africans that it was imperative for them to spend their monies within Africa for the past 17 years.
He said that the award was a validation of his campaign for Africans to accept and promote what is theirs.
According to him, Africans will be better united and strengthen their cultural exchange programmes when they travel within the continent.
“I am quite excited to be honoured by such a great award; I am happy to say that Africans are beginning to realise that the future of Africa depends on Africans.
“ I have been able to achieve a feat whereby African countries are marketing their tourism packages and potential within the African countries.
“ Africa is endowed with all manner of natural sites; I am looking forward to a time when the Americans will have no other choice but to look forward to solely Africa as destinations for their holidays,’’ Uko said .
Uko also canvassed that visas should be issued to tourists at entry points of their host countries to attract more foreigners.
He said that Ghana and the Republic of Benin had enacted this policy and had begun to boost their tourism sector.
He said that this would further boost tourism activities within African countries as Africans would no longer go through cumbersome processes in acquiring travel visa.
NAN also reports that Uko had bagged several tourism awards from the governments of Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda in the past. (NAN)
PTB/PAD
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Edited by Peter Dada