Jumia Travel, the hotel and flight marketplace of Jumia has announced that it will host its maiden World Tourism Day event at Ereko Hall, The Moorhouse Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria on September 27th, 2019. The event will address the growing relevance of tourism and its potential to create thousands of jobs.
The event, which will feature an interactive and panel session, will coincide with the international celebration of World Tourism Day, a day set aside by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value.
This year’s theme “Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future for All” highlights the relevance the tourism sector plays in creating more and better jobs for millions of people everywhere, not only presently, but also for the future, with numerous possibilities for opportunities and challenges.
The theme could not have come at a better time when 1 out of 20 jobs is from the travel and tourism sector coupled with the increasing contributions of the Nigerian hospitality to the labour market. The Nigeria Hospitality report published by Jumia travel reports that the number of direct jobs created by the sector peaked at 1.2 million compared to 651,000 in 2016 (1.6%), that’s 1.8% of total employment in the country.
In line with this, the panel session will discuss “Repositioning Nigeria’s Tourism Industry to Create More Job Opportunities” and will have on the panel: Adun Okupe PhD, Senior Advisor, Red Clay; Gbenga Onitilo, Sales & Marketing; Air Namibia; Michael Balogun, CEO & Founder of Xtrm Tours 2 Nigeria Ltd; Abiola K. Ogunbiyi, MD SJ Tours & Allied Services, Aguilar Monica, General Manager, The Moorhouse Ikoyi and Femi Lawson, CEO Skyview Communication. The session will be moderated by Sam Adeleke, an expert in destination marketing and co-founder at TravelCenter.Africa.
In her remarks, Omolara Adagunodo, the Managing Director of Jumia Travel said that the World Tourism Day event in Lagos is another forum for stakeholders to discuss issues affecting the hospitality sector and proffer pragmatic solutions.
“The Nigeria hospitality sector has myriads of challenges, one of which is reflected in this year’s theme. For Jumia, World Tourism Day is not just a day to celebrate but also a day to discuss some of the shortcomings of the sector while making valid recommendations on how to tackle or resolve them,” she said.
