NIGERIA’S SPORTS TOURISM GETS BOOST FROM WAKANOW
(Posted 17th November 2016)
Nigeria’s first online travel company, Wakanow, has expressed its commitment to continually support sports tourism initiatives as a tool to promoting economic development and social harmony in the country.
The statement was made yesterday by Chief Marketing Officer of the company, Mrs. Victoria Onwubiko, during a press roundtable held in Lagos to formally kick off this year’s edition of the annual COPA Lagos Beach Soccer tournament.
‘Sports tourism has the capacity to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economy, especially at a time when our major source of revenue is in a decline. The vast array of untapped destinations across Nigeria are a testament to the tourism potentials that abound within our shores‘ she said.
She added that Nigeria needed to quickly unravel a tourism development blueprint in response to the economic challenges that currently face the country as revenue from crude oil receipts continues to deplete.
‘To translate our enormous tourism potentials to wealth for the nation requires a deliberate framework of action, and, for the most part, experiential events such as this tournament, to give the visiting traveller, a first-hand experience of what Nigeria has to offer. COPA Lagos can go a long way to changing our narrative in Nigeria and driving a significant amount of traffic into this country. This explains our keen interest in being a part of this event as the Official Travel Partner. We recognize that tourism is a major force for promoting sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria and are committed to viable partnerships that will drive this growth‘.
She commended the Lagos State Government for its support of several sports initiatives and youth development activities in the state, urging governments at all levels to create enabling environment that fosters the growth of sports tourism in the country.
‘We congratulate the Lagos State Government for seeing the potential in the tournament and showing yet again that Lagos is working. We believe that with the right support from governments at all levels, sports tourism in Nigeria will become a major revenue earner for the country‘.
As a major sponsor and official travel partner of the tournament, Mrs. Onwubiko said Wakanow has concluded arrangements to make participants experience the best of travel ranging from flights to ground transfers, hotel bookings and tickets to the games.
Wakanow is Africa’s leading online travel management portal with physical presence in the Nigeria, UAE, UK, US and Ghana, while presently also seeking expansion into East Africa, leveraging heavily on technology and accelerated customer service models. There too are hopes high that Wakanow will start to support local sports initiatives and work hand in hand with leading sports organizations to duplicate their success in Nigeria.
