Tuesday, July 29, 2025
In a awesome thrust to promote intra-Africa tourism, Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) has engaged its tourism counterparts successful Republic of Benin. The business is aimed astatine minimising overseas picnic destinations arsenic good arsenic promoting much cross-border collaborations betwixt Nigeria and different West African countries.
This improvement is coming connected nan heels of two-day moving sojourn by immoderate members of NATOP to Benin Republic connected nan request to collaborate connected tourism development. The NATOP and The Consortium Tourism by Millions of Benin (CTMB) are facilitators of nan tour, alongside apical hotels successful nan state for illustration Azalai Hotel, Benin Royal Hotel.
An Intentional Nudge Toward Intra-African Tourism
The training circuit is to guarantee formative circuit packages is created for African travelers up of this summertime holidays while nan President, NATOP, Mrs. Bolaji Mustapha, reiterated nan request for cross-border tourism. She said nan practice is important to building nan inclusivity and knowing of section tourism offerings and experiences that much intimately resonate pinch African travellers.
It is nan tone of nan workplace travel that circuit operators are being offered precisely nan acquisition that they scheme to waste to clients. Mustapha, nan laminitis of Grand Express Tour Centre, thinks that there’s thing for illustration being astatine nan destination to assistance operators successful creating packages that entreaty to travelers.
Collaboration Between Nigeria and Benin
The Benin accord is seen arsenic cardinal for boosting tourism successful nan westbound of nan continent. The synergy betwixt nan 2 English-speaking West African countries successful nan pursuit of improvement is inevitable erstwhile considering nan imaginable successful this collaboration arsenic it relates to tourism says Dine Bouraima, nan President of CTMB and nan proprietor of Benin Royal Hotel successful nan ray of nan cooperation.
According to Bouraima, visa restrictions applied by immoderate countries, notably nan US, are hindering tourists’ desire to travel to different countries. He urged visitors to enactment wrong nan African continent erstwhile looking for recreation adventures, highlighting nan information and cleanliness of Benin. We person to activity together and thief 1 another. Bouraima added that location practice will thief to link young group to guarantee they do not autumn prey to nan panic groups. He besides pledged to nan Nigerian circuit operators that, he would stay committed to trading nan 2 countries and their communal taste heritage.
A West African Tourism Operator Platform
According to Dr. Olanma Ojukwu, co-founder of God’s Own Travel Agency (GOTA), the sojourn was agelong overdue. With much than 16 years of acquisition successful nan recreation industry, Ojukwu said nan West African circuit operators had been eager for a level to prosecute pinch their peers. Such a partnership, she added, would besides let operators to marketplace their destinations arsenic a package — akin to nan measurement that East African and European tourism pavilions are designed astatine world waste and acquisition shows.
She thinks that promoting aggregate destinations successful nan framework of a location tourism run is nan measurement forward, which will get West African countries connected nan radar of imaginable travelers.
Touring Benin’s Attractions
As portion of nan ongoing excursion, nan Nigerian circuit operators visited Amazon Square, Family Beach Nigeria and a fewer different tourer attraction sites successful nan state of Benin. They are portion of an expanding database of attractions that are being sounded to visitors successful nan area. The squad will besides sojourn nan “Venice of Africa”, a metropolis pinch exceptional civilization and manner connected to water, truthful this shows nan various activities that Benin offers.
The Future of Intra-African Tourism
This Nigeria and Benin collaboration is only nan starting constituent of a wider leap into nan early of amended inter-continental tourism connectivity wrong Africa. Through nan improvement and promotion of location tourism packages, some countries are laying nan groundwork for a much sustainable and integrated tourism manufacture that contributes to nan section system and forges taste connections among neighboring nations.
Backed by awesome manufacture players inclu including NATOP and CTMB, nan push for intra-Africa recreation is successful afloat swing, providing caller opportunities for African countries to diversify their tourism products and leapfrog their reliance connected overseas tourism markets. As nan African nations travel together to item each nan champion location is successful each different successful assets and resources, nan volition is that these partnerships will enactment arsenic a template for different countries connected nan African continent.