Karl Hala: Hospitality Is About People, Not Building

Charles Ajunwa

The Group General Manager, Continental Hotels, Karl Hala, has said that hospitality is about people and not about building.

Hala, who declared this at the AeroWest Summit 2026, which brought together aviation and tourism practitioners in Lagos.

The hospitality expert in his presentation titled, ‘Beyond Connectivity — Building the Tourism Capacity and Experiences That Make Destinations Thrive’, said to improve the performance of any hotel, one cannot think only about hotel.

“I run hotels. So, theoretically, my job should be simple: fill more rooms, sell more conferences, fill our restaurants and increase RevPAR.

“But after many years in hospitality, I have learnt that if I want to improve the performance of my hotel, I cannot think only about my hotel.

“I must think about the airport, the airline, the convention market, the skills of our people, the experiences beyond our doors, how easily visitors can travel around the region — and, above all, the story the world hears about Nigeria.
Because all of these eventually come back to one thing: demand,” Hala said

He said for tourism to happen, the airports and hotels must connect.

According to him, “an airline seat is not tourism.
An airport is not tourism. A hotel room is not tourism.
Tourism happens when we connect the entire ecosystem. An airline can bring somebody to Lagos. But something must make them want to come. Something must make them stay, spend — and, most importantly, return. That is destination development.”

He added, “Hospitality is ultimately not about buildings. It is about people. You can build the most magnificent hotel in Africa — but without trained people, you simply have an expensive building.
That is why one of the projects closest to us today is the Continental Hospitality Academy.

“What began as an idea to strengthen hospitality skills has become a much broader partnership. We are engaging with the Ministry of Education. Continental Hotels is an official UNICEF Generation Unlimited partner. IOM is exploring pathways through which returning Nigerians can receive training and support into employment. GIZ brings competency-based training expertise. And our cooperation with the Digital Bridge Institute adds digital skills, artificial intelligence and 21st-century employability.”

Hala, who advocates collective efforts to achieve desired outcomes, “we should not train young Nigerians simply to become waiters, chefs or receptionists.

“We should train them to become internationally competitive hospitality professionals — people who can build careers, become entrepreneurs and succeed in Lagos, Abuja, Accra, Dubai or London.
And ideally, choose to build their future here.
That is tourism infrastructure too.”

According to him, connectivity without experience is simply transportation.

“So let us ask a different question: what would make somebody fly to Nigeria for three or four days purely because they want to experience Nigeria?

“The ingredients already exist: more than 250 ethnic groups; extraordinary food; Afrobeats; Nollywood; fashion; art; history; festivals; nature; and one of the most energetic entrepreneurial cultures anywhere in Africa.

“Nigeria has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites — the Sukur Cultural Landscape and the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove. These are not merely monuments. They are globally recognised stories waiting to be built into compelling visitor journeys.

“And look at what is happening here in Lagos: the revitalised National Theatre; the newly curated, world-class galleries at the National Museum; our contemporary art scene; and music that already commands the world’s attention.

“We must connect these assets into experiences that are easy to discover, easy to book and worth extending a visit for.

“Food should be central to that proposition.
Nigerian chefs across London and the diaspora are taking our flavours to increasingly ambitious international stages. Why not bring these acclaimed Nigerian chefs home for a coordinated culinary campaign — guest residencies, food festivals and collaborations with local chefs and hotels — showcasing in Nigeria the Nigerian cuisine that diners abroad are celebrating?

“A visitor could come for a concert, spend a day discovering Nigerian art and heritage, experience a remarkable Nigerian dining programme, and then explore the city and its waterfront.
That is how we turn an arrival into a stay — and a stay into a story worth sharing.”

He emphasised the need to tell the Nigerian story for tourism to thrive. “People travel to places they are curious about. And here Nigeria has one of its greatest untapped assets: our story.

“Ask someone outside Africa what they know about Nigeria, and too often the answer has little to do with the Nigeria we experience every day.

“Instead of continually asking, “Why doesn’t the world understand Nigeria?”, perhaps we should ask, “How effectively are we telling Nigeria’s story?”

“We need a deliberate positive narrative.

“Not propaganda. Not pretending our challenges do not exist. But confidently telling the enormous part of the Nigerian story that rarely travels: business, culture, tourism, innovation, food, fashion, music, people, creative industries and the diaspora.

“There are already powerful examples. Programmes such as BBC and Channels Television’s Gist Nigeria can take stories about our heritage, cultural advocates, restored landmarks and creative energy to audiences well beyond the tourism trade.

“Imagine a coordinated series of stories around the National Theatre, the National Museum, our UNESCO sites, our chefs and our artists — supported by airlines, hotels, tourism authorities and the creative industries.
Let Nigerians become so proud of Nigeria that we become the country’s greatest marketing network.
We already have Jollof pride. We have Afrobeats pride.

“We have fashion pride.

“Now we need Nigeria pride.
Because before we can sell a destination internationally, its own people must believe in it.”

On organised demand, Hala asked l commercial question: how do we actually bring people here?

“This is where aviation and hospitality meet.
One of Nigeria’s greatest opportunities is meetings, incentives, conferences and events — MICE.
One international congress can bring 500, 1,000 or 2,000 delegates. They fill aircraft and hotels. They use restaurants and transport. They visit attractions, shop, employ event companies, experience Nigerian culture — and some return with their families.

“That is why Nigeria needs a professional Convention Bureau: one national calendar, one bidding platform and one coordinated interface connecting government, airlines, hotels, convention centres, tour operators, destination companies and international associations.
Today, too much business is pursued individually. A hotel bids. An airline negotiates. A ministry participates. An association tries.
But successful destinations win international congresses as destinations.
Nigeria needs to bid as Nigeria.”

Hala said to make Nigeria an exiting destination for tourists there must be easy access.

“You can market the most exciting destination in the world, but if reaching it is difficult, expensive or bureaucratic, demand immediately shrinks.
Connectivity is not simply: do we have a flight?
It is also: can I obtain my visa easily? Can I travel seamlessly between West and Central African destinations? Can an international visitor combine Lagos, Accra and Abidjan? Can a business traveller extend a two-day conference into a four-day regional experience? Can our airlines create convenient regional connections?

“Accessibility is part of the tourism product.
The easier we make Africa to experience, the more Africa we will sell.”

He said it’s important to finance the reasons to fly.

“Suddenly the aviation discussion changes. We are no longer saying, ‘Please bring another flight to Nigeria’.
We are saying, ‘Here is the demand that will fill your aircraft’.

“That is a fundamentally different conversation.
The theme of AeroWest is Financing Connectivity. I suggest we broaden that thought.
Yes — finance aircraft, airports and routes.
But we must also finance the reasons for those routes to exist: people, skills, destinations, experiences, convention infrastructure, culture, marketing, digital systems and easier access.

“Government cannot do this alone — and neither should it.”

According for tourism to thrive in Nigeria, the private sector must invest in the destination.

“At Continental Hotels, we continue to invest in our properties and the wider hospitality ecosystem: strengthening accommodation, culinary, wellness and MICE offerings in Lagos; and developing a broader convention, sports, wellness, dining and entertainment proposition in Abuja.

“Hotels today cannot simply be places where people sleep. They must become part of the destination experience.

“But investment is also needed beyond the hotel gates: museums, theatres, restaurants, waterfronts, public spaces, entertainment, sports, festivals, cultural experiences, destination management and bookable tour products.

“The opportunity is not simply to build more hotel rooms for existing demand.
It is to create experiences that generate entirely new demand.”

For one tourism economy, Hala concluded with these words.

“So imagine the chain. We train the people. We create experiences through food, culture, music, art and events.

“We tell a confident, authentic Nigerian story.
We organise demand through conventions and destination marketing.

“We make access easier through flights, regional connectivity and visas.
We provide the hotels, convention centres and attractions. And aviation connects Nigeria to Africa and the world.

“These are not separate industries. They are one tourism economy — and every part feeds the other.
So perhaps the greatest opportunity before us is not simply another airline, another hotel, another campaign or another committee.;It is connection.

“Connecting aviation to hospitality. Hospitality to skills. Skills to employment. Culture to storytelling. Storytelling to experiences. Experiences to demand. Demand to investment. And investment back to aviation.

“That is how we stop talking about Nigeria’s tourism potential — and start building Nigeria’s tourism economy.

“The planes can bring the world to Nigeria. Our job is to give the world a reason to come — and an even better reason to come back.”