By Renn Offor
Nigeria’s government has been urged by Mr. Bernard Bankole, the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) to find ways to avert the impending loss of over 300,000 jobs as a result of the plunging fortunes within the country’s travel and tourism sector.
This was his position during the travel association’s maiden media parley held at its national secretariat in Lagos.
The National President of NANTA, after revealing that his administration which assumed office in March 2016, has as its mandate ‘to open a new channels and build on what the previous administrations have done’; he insisted that, ‘The association is the only pressure group that can speak for the causes of the general public on issues of travel’.
He went on to say that the association has restructured its members even as it has equally upgraded and redesigned its website for easy accessibility and for information, as it has ensured full representation for all the zones in the country.
Mr. Bankole also talked about the various efforts the association has made since his administration came into office two months ago in advancing travel business in Nigeria.
‘We are building affiliations with other associations around the world such as American travel association; association of travel and tourism, Kenyan association of travel and tourism etc. All these are in the effort to bring experts and technologies that will help further our various markets for them to enjoy better relations with Nigerians’.
Speaking on other policies that are affecting the development, operations and challenges of travel business in Nigeria, he explained that professionalism should be uplifted as a mandatory requirement for success in travel business, saying ‘As NANTA we need to position ourselves as professionals.
‘We are taking steps to ensure that professionalism is paramount for success in travel business in Nigeria. In line with that, we will ensure to give the association and all the members the necessary training in the coming months.
‘And for this, several airlines have indicated their willingness to support us. This approach will make the association’s business more efficient’.
On talking the challenges in the industry, Mr. Bankole said that, ‘In the past, we’ve been dealing with the problem of collateral to support travel business. We are still dealing with the challenges even as we are willing to do more.
‘IATA has also agreed for us to have a second insurance company to support travel business and to enhance efficiency’.
Speaking about the issue of forex and its impact on travel business, the president explained that the current problem on forex affects both the foreign and local airlines; but insisted that some airlines feel it more than others.
‘Foreign airlines need to repatriate the proceeds from their businesses in foreign exchange. Several of them have their funds being tied done because of foreign exchange.
‘300,000 jobs are at risk in the travel industry as soon as the airlines stop flying. Once the airline stops flying, every business in the travel industry will be grounded. Airports and their staffs will also be affected by the problem.
‘Government too won’t get the taxes they receive through the travel industry. Government is therefore losing. This industry contributes to the Nigeria’s GDP; if this industry goes down, its contribution to GDP disappeared equally’.
Mr. Bankole also revealed the various advocacy moves the association has undertaken in its effort to salvage the beleaguering problems in the travel industry.
‘We’ve had meetings with the ministry of transport, NCAA, and airlines; and we’ve persuading the airlines to patient with us in the market, and not to leave the country. All these are ongoing.
‘The government has to do something that will affect the association and its agencies and all the other sectors in the travel industry. Our appeal goes more to the government. They are saying a new forex policy will be announced; but at the moment it’s not out yet’.
He encouraged Nigerians not to lose faith in the sector, but that with all these challenges the industry will continue to suffer.
‘We need to let the government to see that this is the downstream sector and they have to see what to do to avoid a lot of job loss like we are experiencing in other sectors like the banking sector.
Mr. Bankole took time to debunk the wrong notions from several other sectors including some government functionaries who have held the notion that travel is and refers only to leisure, saying that, ‘It’s unfortunate that some government people still see travel as such.
Going further he explained that, ‘Travel is no longer a luxury but a necessity. In Nigeria today, you can live in Port Harcourt, go travel to Lagos and do business in Abuja. We have been able to form that triangle; and this can be done within a day. It’s only air transport that can make that possible’.
Reiterating on the need for airlines in Nigeria to transact business in Nigerian currency, he explained that ‘it will be a deceit to say that the local airlines do not need this Forex.
‘It’s only that they not need it as much as the foreign airlines; because, for the local airlines, they have their routes here and their operations are done in Naira currency. But the foreign airlines, they need it more because they need to repatriate their funds to a foreign account.
‘If what is happening in Nigeria now is happening in the UK, and Arik Air could not repatriate their money from the UK, what we are talking now will be what they would be talking in the UK because they are going to be having similar problems repatriating their money from there.
‘These are the real issues that are affecting the airlines and making them to come up with all sorts of means to be able to get solve that issue’.
