Tourism in Africa is low due to the lack of patronage by tourists from the continent’s players, the organiser of the yearly Akwaaba Travel Market, Mr Ikechi Uko, has said.
 
Speaking yesterday in Lagos in his welcome address at the 21st Akwaaba Travel Market, Uko said that if 10 per cent of tourists from Africa patronised tourism on the continent, African airlines would not suffer.
 
He therefore urged tourists in the continent to develop tourism within the continent rather grown tourism in Europe, American and the Middle East.
 
Uko insisted that Africa had enough people to create the required tourism growth, but regretted that most of them looked elsewhere for leisure and tourism.
 
He charged tourists on the continent to emulate Americans, who develop their tourism all alone.
 
He, however, said that domestic tourism was thriving in Nigeria, but that more could be done as a nation.
 
He said, “Americans are the engine room of American tourism. In Africa, we have enough people to create the tourism that we need; that is what gave birth to Akwaaba. Today we are 21 years, we want to make Africans the biggest travellers in Africa.” 

“Domestic tourism is thriving. Our hotels are declaring billions of naira as profit annually. That money comes from within. Every Nigerian billionaire becomes a billionaire in dollars. Africa will be great and Africa can achieve that through travel and tourism.”
 
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ibom Air, Mr George Uriesi, has advised indigenous airlines to emulate the airline by entrenching corporate governance.

According to him, since the airline’s birth, the shareholders, including the state government, had allowed the airline to run freely without any interference.
 
Also in attendance at the event was the Publisher of The Guardian Newspaper, Maiden Ibru.