Create Packages to Capture Interest in Local Tourism Market, Hospitality Providers Urged

The Executive Director, Uraga Real Estate Limited, Moyo Ogunseinde, said leisure and hospitality providers should create packages and experiences to capture the long-term interest of the local tourism market.

She disclosed this at the maiden edition of the West Africa Tourism Roundtable Series themed: ‘Domestic Tourism and COVID-19 – trends, and paths to sustainable hospitality, travel, and tourism businesses in West Africa’ in Lagos recently

Speaking on the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry and new paths to consider, Ogunseinde, said “it is important that leisure and hospitality providers ensure that we create packages and experiences to capture the long-term interest of the local tourism market.”

The Executive Director, who shared insights on the experience of hotel operators in Nigeria during COVID-19, hinted that hotel operators had to re-strategize and focus on the domestic leisure tourism market, whereas hitherto, the focus had been on the business and international tourism market.

Ogunseinde charged the participants to address some of the challenges of creating a local tourism market across the country.

In her remarks, Senior Advisor at Red Clay Advisory, Dr. Adun Okupe, stated that the tourism roundtable series was conceived because “we need to come to articulate ourselves better in West Africa and identify ourselves as tourism professionals, no one is going to do it for us”.

The roundtable series is a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and more importantly deliberations on problem-solving to address the most critical challenges the industry faces, which would have a catalytic impact on the development of the tourism industry in West Africa.

In his remarks, the Senior Expert on Communications in Africa at the United Nations World Trade Organisation (UNWTO), Kojo Bentum-Williams, posited that “if we are ready to promote tourism in West Africa, we will need laws, mechanisms, infrastructure, and financing opportunities for businesses within the sector.”

Bentum-Williams, who was the guest speaker, maintained that there is much to be done, especially in connecting investors, updating the legal framework, and building the hard and soft infrastructure required for tourism development in West Africa.

In her remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Teju Abisoye, explained that it was important to create stronger linkages between the public and private sector, through active engagement.

“The potential of the tourism industry in West Africa needs to be harnessed, in a tangible way to make strong contributions to sustainable development. One of the key reasons for the slow growth of tourism in West Africa is the lack of prioritization of the sector by the government. Yet, the government is faced with competing demands, requiring the tourism sector to develop its own voice and use this strongly to ensure tourism is given the priority it deserves and can make contributions to sustainable development.”

The hybrid online and physical event was well-attended by investors, real estate developers, travel operators, architects, designers, and tourism consultants across West Africa. Information was also traded to drive manageability and sustainability in the tourism industry during the session.