Awomoyi Ayodeji: Public-Private Partnership Required to Grow Nigeria’s Tourism Sector

Flyzone Tourism’s recent setting up of its Lagos office was a strategic move aimed at leveraging the proximity to key embassies and expanding into the business-to-consumer market. During an interactive session with journalists, Principal Executive of Flyzone Tourism, Mr. Awomoyi Ayodeji, explained how the decision aligns with the company’s vision. Charles Ajunwa brings the excerpts:

What is your take on tourism in Nigeria?

Tourism in Nigeria is good. The only problem that we have from most of the states, is the destination management. I was saying something in Enugu earlier that it’s seemingly impossible for the government to manage a destination 100 percent. This is why there’s a need for public-private partnership. Because before you know, in another four years, another government takes over, you don’t know the interest of that government if it’s willing to continue with that particular destination and the policies that have been laid on ground. But if there’s a percentage for public-private partnership, a destination can be managed properly. The government can still oversee it, but the destination can be managed better by the private party.

Can you tell us some major activities of Flyzone Tourism? 

Flyzone Tourism, is a trusted name in the tourism and visa service industry, and we are charting an exciting new course with the launch of our Lagos annex located in Allen. For over a decade, Flyzone has operated exclusively in the B2B (business-to-business) space, working closely with travel agencies to deliver world-class travel products and visa services. Now, the company is breaking new ground by introducing a dedicated B2C (business-to-customer) department, offering direct services to individuals. This bold move signals a new chapter in Flyzone’s journey, reaffirming our commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, and industry leadership. We’re in Lagos to expand our horizon, build stronger relationships with our existing customers and travel agencies, and bring more agencies on board. At the same time, we want to connect directly with Nigerians, proving that there are genuine travel providers who offer exceptional services and products.

Flyzone Tourism’s track record speaks volumes about our dedication to the B2B sector. Over the years, the company has successfully partnered with more than 5,000 to 6,000 travel agencies in Nigeria, processing thousands of e-Visas and travel products with remarkable efficiency. These partnerships are built on trust, reliability, and an unwavering focus on delivering value. In Nigeria, we have been helping them, connecting them to a better way of getting their visa applications done. What we do majorly, is we take the documentation and the problem of these travel agencies, and then we get things done positively in acquiring these visas.  Also, Flyzone Tourism is a member of NANTA, a member of NATOP, and a member of SKAL. Twice I emerged as the Travel Personality of the Year in Nigeria – 2022 and 2024. 

So, why coming to Lagos now? 

As I said earlier, the decision to establish a presence in Lagos is strategic and forward-thinking. Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling economic hub, is not just a city; it’s a gateway to Africa and the world. 

Flyzone’s new office aims to tap into the vibrant energy of Lagos, providing a physical space where customers and partners can engage directly with the brand. We’re here to create more communication and build stronger relationships. Our Lagos annex is not just an office, it’s a symbol of our commitment to making world-class travel services accessible to all Nigerians. Whether you’re a travel  agency looking for a reliable partner or an individual planning your next adventure, Flyzone is here for you.  Before now, we were in Port Harcourt and Abuja, and then we deemed it fit to come to Lagos so that we can be closer. Definitely, a larger percentage of some of the travel agencies that we handle are here in Lagos. We studied the MIDT. MIDT is a statistics graph of how people travel more in Nigeria. The Eastern region has 15 per cent, Lagos has 50 per cent, and every other part is sharing the rest. So, because we have this larger percentage of people that are subscribed to our services, we deemed it fit to be closer to them. And then it also makes it easier for us in case of passport submission, and in case of physical documentation reviewing.

Talking about the expansion, what are the products you are hitting the market with? 

Currently, like I mentioned earlier, we handle 13 e-visas. E-visas means electronic visas. They are different from the sticker visas. At the moment, we handle South Africa e-visas. We handle the Morocco e-visas. We handle Qatar e-visas. We have the Kenya e-visa, Uganda e-visas, East Africa e-visas, and then one of our sweet products is the China sticker visa, the 90-day China sticker visa. 

You know, the one that we have that is a major, that we are actually doing right now is the China business visas. We’re encouraging all businessmen, businesswomen, those that do business, people that are bringing shoes, people that are bringing hairs, people that are bringing clothes, people that are into business. We all know China is for business. So, we’re doing a box submission in March where people can come into our office or chat in our customer care lines, and then we’ll be ready to assist them in getting these visas. And for those that are not going there to bring a product, they can go there and build a relationship with suppliers. They can go there and build a relationship with manufacturers. And when they come back, they can then continue chatting with these manufacturers and relationships that  they’ve built.

Are you partnering with Lagos State government to boost tourism in the state? 

You know, we have associations that are registered with the government already that are into this tourism thing. The best we can do is to align ourselves with these associations. You know, on politics, people used to say, the party objective over mine. So, there’s an association already in charge of tourism in Nigeria. It’s the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators. So, we are a member, and anything they want to do, definitely we are also aligned with them. Nevertheless, we’re not ruling it out that if there’s a partnership, definitely it’s possible to building any parts of the destination in Lagos that we can help support.

In terms of policies, what do you think the government should do to make the tourism industry thrive? 

The major thing about policies that we want is to develop Nigerian tourism. That’s the first thing.

The only reason why most people or a larger percentage move out of the country is because our tourism destinations are not fully equipped. You know, tourism is different from tourism destinations. Now, are these destinations well-equipped? Now, I used to say there used to be five A’s for any tourism destination to be named a proper tourism destination. There has to be Access, Attractions, Accommodation, Amenities and Activities. These tourism destinations, they have to meet these five A’s. So, we’ll take an example of any of the tourism sites in Lagos.  If there’s Accessibility, Attractions, Accommodation, Amenities and Activities, then we can name such a place a tourism destination. Not leaving the fact that for a place to be named a tourist destination, it has to be attached to an idea. An example is a spiritual idea. Let’s give an example, where Jesus was born. Now, before a place can be named, that place is named a tourism destination because of what Jesus was born there. So, a tourist destination is not where you just put amenities, and then people go up to swim. 

No. It has to be significant to a particular thing. That is how or why you could name a tourist destination. So, what we are telling the government to do is the tourism destinations that we have in Lagos State and Nigeria, if these places are developed properly, and equipped with amenities, most people, I guess, who might not be interested in moving abroad to enjoy these tourism sites that they visit. 

Last year, Lagos State alone generated over $70 million from Detty December. Are you making efforts to benefit from that?

I believe the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy already has an ideology or a site that says: Visit Nigeria. Visit Nigeria, if we bring in the public-private partnership (PPP), we can also come into the Visit Nigeria even before December, we can take Visit Nigeria out to other countries outside Nigeria and start marketing.

Because if you notice, most of this Detty December, are Nigerians living abroad. It’s tourism though, but we’re not yet getting it 100 percent from people that are not Nigerian citizens. So, if we could, in a way, put the Visit Nigeria, I mean public-private partnership, with Visit Nigeria outside there, I can say to you, Morocco tourism, Dubai tourism, Kenya tourism, Uganda tourism, all of them have a presence in Nigeria. When they come to Nigeria, they have programmes, they explain to travel agencies to bring in clients to visit their countries. So, if you can also have Visit Nigeria, put up this kind of initiative, we’ll go to other countries, we’ll explain to the Europeans, the Americans, people living outside the country, and tell them, you can also visit Nigeria, and then we’ll create a package for them. For Detty December, it’s a good way to start, because Detty December now, it’s everywhere worldwide. And before this year ends, others will start wondering what does Detty December means. 

Over the years, what is your experience like in terms of Nigerians seeking solace outside the country?

The issue we have with Nigerians is that some people do not have anything to do over there. If you have a client and then you ask him what are you going there to do? And this is where most people fail interviews at the embassy. If you say you’re going for tourism, can you mention where exactly you’re going to tour? What are the attractions? The truth is that they have no idea. Let me give you an example, somebody in Ibadan is telling you I’m coming to Lagos. Okay, where are you staying? He or she does not know where he or she is staying. Can I see your hotel receipts, and your booking? No hotels, no receipts. So the problem we have with Nigerians is most of them don’t even understand the destinations they are going.

That is why we are also a tourism advisor, if a family comes and then explains to us that we would love to visit or go for Christmas. We ask them questions. What are the ages of your kids? How old are your kids? By talking to them and discussing with them, we’ll be able to identify a country that suits that kind of family.