BIG TIME AFRICA

The federal government has hinted on the discussion with Cape Verde on plans to begin air transport relationship in line with existing Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between the two countries. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure after a meeting with Cape Verde representatives during a sideline meeting at the just – concluded  First ICAO/UNWTO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa in Sal, Cape Verde. Nigeria & Cape Verde Agree to Operate Direct Flights The federal government has hinted on the discussion with Cape Verde on plans to begin air transport relationship in line with existing Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between the two countries. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure after a meeting with Cape Verde representatives during a sideline meeting at the just – concluded  First ICAO/UNWTO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Tr...

Authorities in South Africa’s Limpopo province on Saturday confirmed that fourteen lions that broke loose from their natural habitat had returned without incident. “The department also confirms that the animals will be kept within the area. The department’s role is to enforce control where human lives are threatened. The lions have not been of any threat to humans,” the department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in the province said in a statement on Saturday. Reports emerged last Friday that the group of lions were roaming the streets of Phalaborwa with residents cautioned to remain vigilant and reports any sighting of the animals to relevant authorities. The reports said the animals were suspected to have been from the famed Kruger National Park, KNP, which is located in Limpopo but that version of accounts was disputed by the park’s authorities. Spokesperson for SANParks Isaac Phaahla responding to the incident last week clarified: “It has been repo...

An aviation and tourism expert, Mr Ikechi Uko, on Tuesday said Nigeria should develop an Aviation Masterplan so as to maximise the abundant opportunities in the sector. Ikechi, who is the promoter of the Akwaaba African Travel and Tourism Expo, made the suggestion while speaking with newsmen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He said other African countries especially Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya were taking advantage of the potentialities of the aviation sector to drive their economy. “Nigeria first have to create a grand plan of what we want to do with aviation because aviation drives economy, aviation creates wealth and employment. “So, we have to have a masterplan for aviation. How many people do we want it to employ and what do we want it to contribute to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “We have to bring it down to the number of airlines that we need to activate this vision but unfortunately, we have not been able to implement this as a policy,” Uko noted. He said it w...

Over the years, La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Ikegu Village, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, has focused on presenting African hospitality and culture in a cosmopolitan manner. The resort, which boasts of a clean beach, lagoon and mangrove forest, provides visitors with the opportunity to observe, at close quarters, a wide variety of tropical flora and fauna, including snake trees, mangroves, various species of epiphytes, monkeys, squirrels, bats, and various species of birds such as kingfishers, sea hawks, egrets and ducks. At the resort, tourist can explore the mangrove forest, play, bond with families and team members, go fishing in the lagoon or do nothing but relax sandwiched in between the warm sands on the beach. The resort is ideal for honeymoons, corporate retreats and conferences, family getaways, getaways, destination proposals and weddings. Just recently, the resort opened the longest swimming pool ever. Created by the beachfront, which is 120 metres with six bars, the rec...

Tourism’s unique potential as a tool for driving the global sustainable development agenda has taken center stage at a special event hosted by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The session, entitled Tourism Financing for the 2030 Agenda, was held during the 2019 Global Review of Aid for Trade at the headquarters of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili began the discussions by highlighting the key role that the global tourism sector plays in economic growth and job creation. Ministers, development partners, and financing institutions need to better understand and recognise how tourism can contribute to the 2030 Sustainable Agenda. Tourism is explicitly mentioned as a target in three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (8, 12 and 14). Though, as speakers at the Geneva session noted, for the sector to really realise its enormous potential, the amount of aid and development financing directed towards touri...

As stakeholders in the arts and culture sector gear up for this year’s NAFEST holding in Benin, Edo State, His Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has extolled the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe. The revered monarch said Nigeria needs great minds like Runsewe, who are passionate about the promotion of the country’s rich and diverse cultures expressing his delight at the choice of Benin for the next edition of the National Festival for Arts and Culture slated for October. Oba Ewuare was speaking when the DG, along with his management team and 30 state directors of culture, including major culture stakeholders, visited him in his palace. His Royal Majesty was also glad that NAFEST would be hosted in Benin from Oct 19 to 26, with activities evenly distributed in major symbolic venues across the ancient city all in a bid to showcase the culture and boost the state economy. The Benin M...

Ogun State government is set to incorporate afrobeat music into it’s annual African Drum Festival to make it ‘bigger and better”. The State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, who disclosed this while playing host to the Ooni of Ife, Oba  Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta yesterday, said the decision was aimed at promoting the music made popular by an indigene of the State, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. “Ogun State has been hosting the Drum Festival in the past. We are going to take it a step higher. We are going to have the drum and afrobeat festival. It is going to be a bit bigger than the drum festival”, he said. Governor Abiodun also disclosed that 30 hectares of land had been allocated for the Creative Arts Village whose construction would commence in the third quarter of this year. He said efforts are on to have a more than 15,000 seater conference hall that would be like a “mini Hollywood”, where those in the music industry would use to express thems...