Launch first travel consolidation in Nigeria
By Wole Shadare
Four travel agencies in Nigeria – Touchdown Travels Limited, Finchglow Travels Limited, Dees Travels and Tours Limited and Quantum Travels Limited, have coalesced to launch the first travel consolidation in Nigeria under a new body, Travel Investment Company (TICO) to generate a combined revenue of N36 billion in 2014. The combined entities represent 20 per cent of the market share.
Managing Director of the Board and Managing Director of Quantum Travels Limited, Mr. Michael Otubu, made these known in Lagos during the formal launch of TICO – a body that midwifed the consolidation of four of the biggest travel companies in Nigeria.
He said that TICO intends to grow by 15 per cent year-on -year, putting their share capitalisation at N100 million. Otubu said that their decision to form the consortium was not made from the comfort of their financial success, but from the depth of their experience in the market.
He explained that together, they poolled a wealth of experience, skill and competence that gives TICO the competitive advantage and its drive to work towards building a brand that will become a foremost leader in the global travel industry.
Otubu hinted that their objective is to diversify their operations by adding TICO cargo and airports drop off services as part of their operations by putting together travel finance options. He said:
“The decision by the concerned travel agencies to consolidate was more of a natural decision, given the competitive nature of the industry. So, in that regard, this is not a new business model.
“However, given the circumstance of the industry changes and looking at the prospects consolidation presents, it is a welcome development to explore other means of revenue generation.”
Speaking on how the individual agencies hope to bury their ego in a business of such magnitude, Managing Director of Touchdown Travels Limited, Dayo Adeola, stated that ego is a personal thing and has no place in the duty of making business decisions.
He noted that TICO’s principals are, indeed, very successful in their own rights, but in the face of a common industry challenge, they’ve drawn from their experience to come together with a collective vision, which can only benefit them as a consortium and as individual companies as well. Adeola noted:
“Consolidation is widely adopted in Europe, South Africa and USA. We can say it started in mid- 90s in the USA in the face of stiff competition in the American travel industry.
Europe caught on not too long after.” Asia, he noted, picked up on it within months and now the rest of the world is seeing it as a viable strategy for costreduction and profit-making.
He added that Nigeria is not exempted from the pressures characterised in global business operations and has no option but to tow the line. Chief Executive Officer of TICO, Mrs. Irene Uti-Egbeogu, the brain behind this initiative, noted that consolidation is desirable at this point in time. She stated that the travel industry in evolving and consolidation is an extract from that evolution.
“Consolidation is sweeping the global travel industry and bringing about tighter affiliations and stronger brands. In Nigeria, I believe that it will bring about efficiency in terms of the operations aspect. TICO has looked into the future and seen that there is strength in number, not just by statistic, but also by strength in competence and negotiation standpoint.
http://woleshadare.com/2015/05/19/four-travel-agencies-rake-in-n36bn-revenue/
