Genesis of the travel agency as a profitable business in Nigeria
3 min read
“Travel Agency Operations in Nigeria”; without an iota of doubt is a quintessential chronicle of a critical arm of air travel, tourism, and hospitality in Nigeria.
Procuring professional service for one’s flight or group travel arrangement and other hospitality or tourism destinations planning has the potential of removing stress and nipping in the bud frustration though yet to manifest and which the client may not even be aware of but which experienced travel agent professional helps prevent by offering foolproof travel advisory.
“Travel Agency Operations in Nigeria”, is authored by Mr. Ebenezer Olusoji Amusan. A renowned veteran who has chalked up over five decades of cognate experience in an uncommon arm of air travel. That is in the selling of aircraft seats, selling of destinations, and hospitality facilities worldwide.
The book is another repertoire on the wherefore and whereto of the downstream sector of Nigerian aviation and has just been perfected and rolled out of the press. Those that value historical facts told by a rare breed professional who was an eyewitness and an active participant, will surely have a compelling reason not to only keep one copy in their libraries but to purchase dozens and use them as gifts to family members, friends, and acquaintances.
A Yoruba adage, although rhetorical says, “Who can strap a baby to his/her back better than the mother? Who can volunteer the narratives about the evolution and growth of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies, NANTA, better than the person who operated when there was no organized body, who was there when a group was formed although informal, and amorphous, and was there when the body was formed and duly registered.
The struggle to make the body operate strictly as a professional body is not missed out on the account. How the international airlines found members as a bride of convenience and at another breath circumvent most if not all that should accrue to members as commission.
Another interesting stage was the process of due recognition by the air transport regulatory authority, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA. Although the struggle for recognition to bring travel agents under government scrutiny predates the NCAA. Late Mrs. Fatimah Galbrati’s contributions come to mind at this juncture. May we abound in good deeds and unpretentious professional service to humanity, so as to earn a place on the good side of history.
All such accounts and similar ones await you in the treasure trove titled, ‘Travel Agency Operation in Nigeria”
There were times travel agents prospected only with their suitcases. It was difficult to decipher between some groups who paraded themselves as Public Relations Practitioners, and Travel Agents. The advent of NANTA put paid to that.
Ushered in was the era of acquisition of relevant requisite education which the International Air Transport Association, IATA, Offered and still offering. This to a large extent helped remove the chaff from the grain. Especially among those with substandard institutions but claimed to train professionals. More than a mention is made in the book, of the need to acquire requisite education and proper mentoring before parading oneself as a travel agent.
Professor Anthony Kila highlights the book through its blurb. The highlight succinctly encapsulates the motif of the literary work and recommends the book to all categories of people within and outside the air transport industry.
According to Prof. Kila’s well-founded notion having read through the book, Travel Agency Operation in Nigeria, he thus volunteered;
“This book is about the past, present, and future of the travel industry and beyond.
Ebenezer Olusoji Amusan’s account of Travel Agency Operations in Nigeria is a delightful and insightful personal and professional account of a passionate, committed, and invested protagonist of the Nigerian and world aviation industry.
Page after page, the reader is treated to memorable events, considerations, and people that have shaped the story of the industry and beyond for decades”. – Prof. Anthony Kila.
Public presentation of the book comes up Tuesday 25th April 2023, at the Golfview Hotel & Suites, 12 General Adeyinka Adebayo Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. An exquisite rendezvous for, but not limited to aviation professionals, stakeholders, and investors, to brainstorm on the industry in an environment ensconced from hurly-burly of the state of aquatic splendor.
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