Vanguard
31 October 2008
It was the gathering of the clan as stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry converged at the Eko Hotel for three days for the 4th edition of the AKWAABA travel market and the Africa travel award put together by publisher of ATQ magazine, Ikechi Uko.
Major hotel chains from the West Africa coast joined leading Airlines in Nigeria at the only international Travel exhibition in West Africa.
Virgin Nigeria led the Nigerian charge at the event as the best African Airlines, SAA and Kenya Airways showcase their excellent services alongside Emirates and Qatar airways.
The event which opened Saturday with a seminar on Destination marketing, branding and crises as well as presentation on "Cost and Benefits of International Hotel Brands".
The seminar on Destination Marketing, Branding and Crisis Communication was handled by an Israeli expert from the University of Haifa, Eran Ketter with case studies of the strategic approach to place branding, media strategies for marketing places in crisis, reputation management before, during and after a crisis, the marketing of African countries in the World Wide Web.
Apart from the exhibition which had in attendance some states like Edo, Cross Rives, Akwa Ibom as well as tourism and aviation parastatal like the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation; National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism; the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority [NCAA] Skypower Aviation Handling Company among others, the travel award was a huge success.
During the award , Niger State Governor Aliyu Babaginda was voted Best Tourism Governor of the year 2008 . In his remark, the Governor, represented by Umaru Nasco, the state commissioner for Tourism and Culture, while thanking the organisers for the award, re-iterated his government commitment to tourism development which he said will reduce their independent on federal allocation.
The Governor used the opportunity to reel out the efforts of the government in attracting investors to the state as well as the various tourism projects being embarked on particularly the Zuma rock.
Presenting the award, the Director General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe commended the Governor and enjoined him to carry on in his good effort at developing the State and also making tourism relevant in the state.
The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation also won the best innovative travel award in recognition of the corporation's introduction of the first Tourism Navigation Aids.
The chief organizer of AKWAABA , who is also the publisher of African Travel quarterly (ATQ) Mr Ikechi Uko, commended the initiative of the NTDC Boss, Ofunba Olusegun Runsewe for making the sattlite Navigator possible for Nigeria.
The DG NTDC in his response thanked the organizes of AKWAABA for the award. He assured that next year's edition would witness co_sponsorship of the event by at least five states.
NTDC'S stand was one of the best among other Federal Government Agencies in terms of space and material for display. The stand was expertly decorated touristically to the admiration of participants and other co_exhibitors.
The award winning Five Star airline, Qatar Airways again displayed the qualities of a Five Star airline as it beat other international airlines operating in to Nigeria by clinching the Best International Airline in Nigeria award
Qatar Airways at the Expo, beat airlines like British Airways, Emirates, Air France, Lufthansa and others in that category to the show.
Organiser of the Travel Market and the award dinner, Mr. Ikechi Uko, while speaking about the airline before giving the award said Qatar Airways, was recognized for its fast and unrelenting growth in Nigeria and its immense contributions to tourism in Nigeria .
According to him, the airline as young as it is in the country, showed determination to succeed and outshine others even in the short period.
Qatar Airways began services into Lagos Nigeria in April 2007."The airline has succeeded in attracting the attention of stakeholders in the aviation and travel industries as well as other Nigerians due to a rugged passion for growth and development it exhibited. As at today, it is the fastest growing international airline in Nigeria and we are proud of its achievements', he said.
Director General of Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, while presenting the award to Mr. Kola Olayinka, Sales Manager, Qatar Airways, Nigeria , said Nigeria feels very proud of the airline adding that such kind of achievement by Qatar Airways in Nigeria is rare of foreign airlines in the country.
"Nigerians are very proud of you, you have demonstrated the attributes of a Five-Star airline in Nigeria", he said.
Speaking shortly after receiving the award on behalf of the airline in Nigeria, Kola Olayinka, who could not hold back his mood of surprise, told journalists that he is pleasantly surprised to hear the announcement that Qatar Airways had won the award for Best international airline in Nigeria .
He attributed the feat to staff dedication, the airline's good products and excellent on board products and crew who have consistently won awards for excellence over the past five years.
"It is simply the excellent products and services we offer; the kind of staff we have and our Cabin crew that have continued to win the best awards even in the Middle-East that have earned us this recognition", he said.
He added that though there were challenges the airlines were faced with in the course of its operations in Nigeria, through dedication and prompt services to customers, it had been able to break through.
"I will not say that there were no challenges, one of the things we do to be on the competitive edge, is to listen to our customers' complaints, react and respond to their needs with utmost respect and we get good feedback; above all, we respect our customers' feelings", he added.
Area Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Andy Stern, Qatar Airways, said the airline is proud to receive such an award saying it is a huge achievement for an airline that has operated in Nigeria for less than twenty months.
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