…As Ethiopia Airlines announces PH destination

Ezekiel Ikotun, MD/CEO Finchglow Travels Limited, has rallied stakeholders in the travel value chain, saying the sub-sector is capable of boosting Nigeria’s economy through tourism.

This was the highlight at a seminar in Port Harcourt last week. He said Finchglow, which services the travel value chain, was prepared to intensify their role as travel consolidator, the agent’s agent. “We buy from airlines in bulk and resell to other travel agencies. Because we are driven by volume, we get better discounts because of our position, then we can resell better to other travel agencies.”

He said they achieve this by positioning agents in terms of awareness and capacity building. Evidence seemed to be in the fact that that all airlines came to make presentations about their products and services, and then in turn, Finchglow’s partners and sub-agents could ask questions or be better enlightened on how best they could do their business. He noted that the training and repositioning would boost the practice and income of the agents. “Now, for the agents also, once they can serve better, they can have better businesses. For those who are in our own ecosystem, that simply means they will know better about the business, and they can serve their customer better.”

Ikotun used the opportunity to make important statements on aviation policy. “One of the greatest challenges we are facing is the issue of forex. If all the airlines can be mandated to sell in Naira, then we can remit in Naira. So, we don’t have any problem when it comes to remittances.”

He also called for more investment in the travel ecosystem which he saw as the mother of the tourism industry. “Also, in terms of awareness, our industry is one of the most viable, even in the world. If you look at the GDP of the world, what travel and tour industry is contributing is not a small fraction. So, if a lot of investment can be done in that regard like Kenya does. People travel from America to Kenya simply because of how their tourism industry is being structured.

“So, if you have something similar in our space in Nigeria, that means that industry will even give more to the GDP of Nigeria.”

He raised alarm, saying insecurity was killing the Nigerian economy. “It is driving people away. Who wants to come to a space where you hear about a lot of kidnapping, hear about bandits, and all of that?

“If security can come into place, that will be one. Then, better business architecture where there’s certainty in the business area. You’ll see investors coming in to invest heavily in our space, and we’ll see how tourism is going to come.

“People really want to come to Nigeria because we have a lot of natural endowments across the entire region of Nigeria.

“There’s no area that does not have something natural that people can come in, flying in from anywhere in the world to come and see. But in terms of investment, government support is not there. But if we can have that, then there’s security, everything will be fine.”

He spoke about (Artificial Intelligence), saying it is taking the front door of every conversation. “If you look at the investment globally, this year is over $1 trillion, the investment. Meaning any industry that is a bit structured is going to be heavily hit by AI. So, what next is us building a robust architecture technology that can accommodate some of the things we talked about in terms of automation, in terms of availability of products and services, access to technology, and all of that.”

Earlier, Oluremi Olusunde, MD/CEO, Realms Travels and Tours Limited, gave tips on how to survive as an airline agent. He also spoke on the benefits of AI in the industry.

Chigozie Nnah, Account Manager, Lufthansa Airlines, Port Harcourt, treated the difficult concept of ‘continuous pricing’.

Ethiopian Airlines coming back to PH:

Firiehiwot Mekonnen, Area Manager – Nigeria, Ethiopian Airlines confirmed that the airline was set to return to Port Harcourt as one of three new destinations in Africa. She gave December as the period.

Showing her excitement for the PH route, she introduced Agitu Tesfaye as the one to manage the PH route as the Traffic and Sales Manager of Ethiopian Airlines.

In her presentation, she said: “Ethiopian Airlines has been flying to Port Harcourt back in 2019. I want you to ask, request, and comment as well on our services. Ethiopian Airlines is an 80-year-young airline. Ethiopian Airlines was founded in 1945. This year, we have already celebrated our 80.”