Lagos — Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industry might overtake oil sector by 2021 if the recently launched African Union (AU) passport is adopted by the country’s legislators,country manager of Jumia Travel Nigeria, Mr. Kushal Dutta, has said.
Dutta,who disclosed this in Lagos,also said the Pan-African passport would allow free movement of domestic tourists into the country.
He said the opportunities presented by the unified African passport supersede the threats, especially now that Nigeria’s mainstay which is oil might not be sufficient to grow the economy; if the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved.
He also noted that the reality of the dwindling oil prices as a result of the fall in foreign exchange is now being felt across all sectors and as such, many industry experts are daily brainstorming on diversification opportunities to prevent the country from going on recession.
Great strides made to fix SA’s revised immigration policy but a few problems remain
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When the new immigration regulations were implemented in 2014, they were met with near-universal condemnation. Parents were outraged at the new requirements for travelling minors, the tourism sector was in a state of near panic as tourist arrivals dwindled thanks to prohibitively onerous legal requirements and investors and businesspeople were left unsure as to what extent their freedom of movement would be impeded. It was an untenable situation.
In response, an interministerial committee was established to develop measures to address some of the main issues. The immediate measures proposed by the committee included:
Progress has been swift and highly encouraging. The biometric systems are in place at the three major airports as well as Lanseria, and have been successfully tested. Thanks to this, transit visas are no longer required for persons travelling through these ports of entry. To ease the entry requirements for groups of Chinese travellers, the department of home affairs waived the requirement to have to apply for a port of entry visa in person when traveling in a group — on the condition that the biometric data of such travellers are taken upon arrival and departure from South Africa. Whereas this is largely thanks to the highly regulated Chinese tourism sector, which means tour operators in that country are already accredited by the Chinese government, recognition must go to home affairs for taking such a practical stance.
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Ethiopia: Why It’s Right Time to Invest in Ethiopian Hotel Industry?
Growing the number of hotels is part of the plan to make Ethiopia one of the top five tourist destination in Africa
While the Ethiopian economy continue enjoying double digit growth, the hospitality sector is poised for further growth in the wake of increased number of inbound travelers into the country with expected opening of the AU Grand Hotel, Pullmann, Crowne Plaza, Wyndham Hotel Group, Crowne Plaza, Accor Group and Best Western.
Being the third largest diplomatic community in the world, following New York and Geneva, Addis Ababa has become home to several new star hotels. Conferences in the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa have increased the demand for brand hotels bringing a huge chunk of foreign currency to the tourism economy. The city is home to the world’s third highest concentration of embassies bringing the majority of the diplomatic missions into the country. Large global bases for NGO’s, embassies and aid agencies also created massive market for the hotels.
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Africa: ‘AU Passport Will Boost Nigeria’s Tourism Sector’
Lagos — Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industry might overtake oil sector by 2021 if the recently launched African Union (AU) passport is adopted by the country’s legislators,country manager of Jumia Travel Nigeria, Mr. Kushal Dutta, has said.
Dutta,who disclosed this in Lagos,also said the Pan-African passport would allow free movement of domestic tourists into the country.
He said the opportunities presented by the unified African passport supersede the threats, especially now that Nigeria’s mainstay which is oil might not be sufficient to grow the economy; if the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved.
East Africa: Airports Transforming Tourism Sector
Ethiopia seems awake to look in to its tourism potential. Along with the development of various tourist infrastructural facilities, the country is endeavoring to market the resource for economic development. The government is also taking bold measures to transform the sector. The establishment of the National Tourism Council led by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn is a manifestation to the government’s political commitment to develop the sector.
Cognizant of sector contribution to national development, the government availed a new national tourism brand ” Land of Origins ” to tell the world Ethiopia is home to many Origins. The role and contribution of airports is vital to realize the aspirations in the sector.
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