Tourism Personalities to be Recognised at Abuja Jabamah
Lai Mohammed
Leading tourism personalities in Nigeria as listed by Travellers magazine will be inducted at the 6th Abuja Jabamah Travel Expo at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on November 16.
Travellers magazine recently unveiled a list of 100 tourism personalities in Nigeria across sectors including government, hospitality, tour operators and the media.
Abuja Jabamah is a Travel Expo put together by the organizers of Akwaaba African Travel Market in its efforts to drive domestic tourism. It seeks to play host to a huge travelling population, hotels, tour operators and travel agents for B2B sessions and exhibitions, while specifically showcasing the tourism attractions of northern Nigeria.
This year’s event will have Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa attending.
Travellers magazine, as one of the prominent voices in the travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation industry in Nigeria and Africa will use the opportunity of the event to honour industry players who have made a mark through their contributions to the development of tourism in Nigeria.
According to the magazine’s publisher, Ikechi Uko, “In 1998, the Travellers magazine published its first compilation of the Nigerian Top 100 Tourism Club and the compilation served the industry well as it provided a database of ‘who is who’ in tourism business in Nigeria.
“Twenty years after, an update is needed and we came up with the list of Top 100 tourism personalities who have made tourism in Nigeria what it is.”
The list has categories for tourism elders, pioneers, association heads, young tourism promoters and Nigerian Winners of Africa Travel 100 Women Award among others.
Among the names listed include, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; DG National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe and DG, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Folorunsho Folarin Coker.
Also on the list are the Commissioners for Tourism in Lagos and Plateau States, Steve Ayorinde and Mrs. Tamwakat Weli respectively.
Chairman Carnival Calabar, Gabe Onah; Female Band Leader Carnival Calabar, Senator Florence Ita Giwa; BOT Chairman of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators, Nkereuwem Onung and President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agents (NANTA). Bankole Bernard were also listed.
Others include MD Transcorp Hilton, Valentine Ozigbo; MD Wakanow, Obinna Ekezie and Director (Africa) at Dubai Tourism, Stella Fubara-Obinwa. THISDAY’s Demola Ojo was one of the media personalities on the list.
