Chinedu Eze
With thousands of natural and man-made tourist sites, Nigeria would be a major tourism destination in Africa in near future, Chairman, Dover Hotel, Jackson Abbah has said.
He said that the current security threat in the country is a passing phase, which would usher great opportunities in the travel and hospitality industry, remarking that Nigeria would become a huge international attraction, being home to highly intelligent people on earth.
Besides insecurity, Abbah noted that the world’s progress was set back by the economic devastation of COVID-19, which adversely affected the travel and hospitality industry globally.
He suggested that rather than go through the rigorous process of quarantine abroad a new trend of embarking on internal travels for holiday has emerged, creating business and revenue boost for local hotels.
Abbah said hindrances in international travel have forced Nigerians to look inwards and they have found out that there are indigenous hotels in Nigeria: Lagos, Owerri, Kano and Abuja with standard competitive facilities obtainable with what they have abroad, adding that it is equally cheaper to enjoy these facilities in Nigeria than travelling abroad.
“Now because of COVID-19 there’s a new trend going on, because
people are frustrated by the protocols of quarantining when they
travel to other countries. What are they doing then? They now embark on internal travels; people are now taking themselves
from the East to the West, from Abuja to Lagos, etc and they lodge in
hotels, it’s more like a vacation for them whether it is one week or
one month.
“It is also cheaper for them in terms of cost; they save cost, air
ticket going abroad and most travellers are now realising that the
facilities that they could enjoy in hotels abroad can also be found in
hotels in Lagos and Abuja, Owerri and Kano; quality hotels at rates
that are far cheaper,” Abbah said.
He said that upsurge in the establishment of hotels all over the country even with high patronage is expected as long as human beings travel from one point to another because they would definitely need a place to lodge to transact their businesses.
“As long as human beings travel; leave their location whether for a business or leisure the fact remains that they will continue to consume hotels. You do not carry your accommodation to the next travel place and it is not all the time you go to a location that you’re going to see a
relative or friend that can accommodate you; so you are forced to
patronise the hotel which is created mainly for that purpose.
“So what you see happening is that people get into a town for a burial
ceremony, naming ceremony or business, they need a place to stay and
depending on their budget they will look for a place that is relative
to their budget,” he said.
