The 17th edition of Akwaaba African Travel Market, the leading travel and tourism expo in West Africa, will be held from November 29 and 30, 2021 in Lagos, Nigeria. The event will serve as the venue for the unveiling of the shortlist for the 7 Natural Wonders of Nigeria. The search for the Seven Wonders of Nigeria was launched last year to draw attention to the tourism attractions in Nigeria. A committee was put together by the organisers of Naija 7 Wonders to handle the search. The committee is made of 150 top tourism practitioners in Nigeria who are all members of the elite group of Tourism 100 Club. They have shortlisted 35 destinations for the public to choose from and the winners will be announced at Akwaaba.
Akwaaba is the largest gathering of travel professionals in West Africa with over 3000 delegates attending. It has over the years become the meeting place for travel and tourism practitioners in Africa. It has drawn attendance from over 20 nations. Many VIPs have graced the event in the past including; former president Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of The Gambia, late Dawda Jawara, the former vice president of Nigeria, late Alex Ekwueme, the former secretary general of the Commonwealth of Nations, Emeka Anyaoku, the former governor of Lagos State, senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former governor of Cross River State, senator Liyel Imoke and governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State. Serving Ministers of Tourism from Ghana, Gambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Seychelles have all attended past editions of Akwaaba. The current president of South African Football, Danny Jordaan had made a presentation at Akwaaba.
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Leading hotels, airlines and destinations including Dubai, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, Kenya, Gambia, Benin, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Libya, USA, Spain and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (UK) had all participated in the African Travel Market. Akwaaba had been so successful that it started another event in Ghana, the Accra Weizo, which has been held in Accra for five years consecutively. However, because of the effect of the Covid19 pandemic, Akwaaba is dedicating this year’s event to the hospitality and the leisure economy and their capacity to heal. There will be training on M.I.C.E and a Specialist Certificate course on Tourism in Nigeria. There will be discussions and panels on Hospitality and Standardisation in Nigeria.
The two-day event will draw on experts from Africa and Nigeria to expose and dissect relevant topics at the event. The exhibition will run for two days at Eko Hotel Convention Centre from November 29-30, 2021.
