Aimed at exposing the rich African cuisine to travellers and deepen the people to people encounters in Africa, the yearly Jollof Rice War (#jollofricewar) by the organisers of one of the biggest travel and tourism expo in West Africa, AKWAABA African Travel Market, has now be expanded to include other nations outside West Africa.
The Jollof Rice War, which was initiated to build a culinary identity among West Africa countries commenced in 2017 in partnership with the Ghana Tourism Authority, became a popular competition such that the match between Nigeria and Ghana is now termed the JollofRice Derby.
The instant success of the Jollofrice War and the popularity it has since gathered hints at a great future for African Food Culture. The 19th edition of the event will be held from September 3 to 5, 2023, at the Eko Hotels Convention Centre, Lagos State, Nigeria.
The 19th Edition will draw attendance from countries within and outside Africa.
According to the founder, Ikechi Uko, the Jollof Rice War now in its 6th year will be open to other countries.
“The yearly event is back to its usual time of September after the move to November because of the COVID-19 fallout in 2021 and 2022.
“There will be a rice cooking contest to introduce other rice flavours in Africa and a food exhibition for the participating countries.”
The African Travel Market has grown over the years to become the most important platform for marketing travel and tourism in West Africa and is among the top five tourism events in Africa.
The 2023 edition will feature African Travel Technology Day showcasing the travel technologies driving tourism and travel in Africa on Monday September 4. The prestigious Africa Travel Awards and its Africa Travel100 Awards will also be on September 4.
In 2022, AKWAABA introduced the Medical Tourism Session and Pavilion based on the fallout of the COVID19 pandemic, which placed health and wellness on the front burner. Based on the attendance and response to the session, the Medical Tourism Pavilion will be enhanced in 2023 on Tuesday September 5. There will also be an African Tourism Youth Bantaba to connect African Youth in Tourism in order to improve partnership to grow tourism in Africa.
