Nigeria, Senegal Partner on New African Tourism Broadway Initiative

Mary  Nnah

Reigning champions of Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal, has reached out to Nigeria’s biggest and most influential travel and tourism trade group, the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) in efforts to ramp up mutual beneficial intelligence and market capacity sharing relationship on the tourism trade. 

While NANTA will bring the massive presence and experience of its over six thousand members across Nigeria to stimulate the Senegal and Nigeria tourism handshake across the vast west coast of Africa, the Senegalese team represented by its fledgling government powered Tourism Board, will fund expansive and exclusive trade workshops on Senegal tradocultural and sport tourism offerings.

With eyes on Nigeria’s active trade and adventure market, NANTA will help navigate the destination Senegal expects, a notable tourism feat the association has championed as part of its Africa to Africa tourism diplomacy under its current leadership.

President, NANTA, and leading key members of her executive, Mrs. Susan Akporiaye, assured the Senegalese tourism board team, that NANTA has the connection, experience, and reach to drive the destination Senegal initiative in Nigeria, and in an instant effectual gesture to birth the relationship.

Akporiaye revealed further the association offered a free exhibition stand to Senegal at its annual trade conference in Kano this month to showcase its tourism products and offerings.

She further informed the Senegalese trade team led by Khadim Amar, Senior Project Manager, Mamadou Moustapa, Religious Tourism Product Manager and Consultant, Sakina Renneye that NANTA will leave no stone unturned in pursuit of partnering with willing African tourism bodies and is committed to sharing tourism trade prosperity with Senegal.

Amar, who spoke at the strategic meeting held at the Lagos iconic head office of the 46 years old association, expressed their gratitude to NANTA whose support and commitment to the growth of joint tourism initiatives and action plans in Africa have become legendary.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to meet with NANTA, to plan and agree together, especially as Africans on how the continent, can benefit from tourism trade promotion,” Amar stated, adding that the Senegalese authorities are willing to further drive the NANTA relationship, by hosting a broad meeting with the association in Senegal in order to horn tourism and related trade openings between the two west African brother nations for the benefit of its people.

Presenting a football jersey with Number 10, to the President of NANTA, Amar explained that the Senegalese team won the African nations cup with its Number 10 player winning the Man of Match in the final game, and therefore the jersey Number 10 given to NANTA symbolises a winning strategy between NANTA willing to open the Nigerian travel market to   Senegal as the two institutions gear up to a win-win intra west coast tourism engagement.