By Taiye Olayemi
Senegal has reached out to the National Association of Travel Agencies (NANTA) on efforts to ramp up mutual beneficial intelligence and market capacity sharing relationship on tourism.
This is contained in a statement by NANTA’s National President, Mrs Susan Akporiaye, on Tuesday in Lagos.Akporiaye assured the Senegalese tourism board team, that NANTA had the connection, experience and reach to drive the destination Senegal initiative in Nigeria.She offered a free exhibition stand to Senegal at its annual trade conference in Kano on March 24 to showcase its tourism products and offerings.She further informed the Senegal trade team that NANTA will leave no stone unturned in partnering with willing African tourism bodies and is committed to sharing tourism trade prosperity with Senegal.
“NANTA will bring the massive presence and experience of its over 6,000 members across Nigeria to stimulate the Senegal and Nigeria tourism hand shake across the vast west coast of Africa,“The Senegal team represented by its fledging government-powered Tourism Board, will fund expansive and exclusive trade workshops on Senegal tradocultural and sports tourism offerings.“With eyes on Nigeria’s active trade and adventure market, NANTA will help navigate the destination Senegal expectations, a notable tourism feat the association has championed as part of its Africa to Africa tourism diplomacy under its current leadership,” she said.
Khadim Amar, Senior Project Manager from Senegal, expressed gratitude to NANTA whose support and commitment to the growth of joint tourism initiatives and action plans in Africa has become legendary.“We are grateful for this opportunity to meet with NANTA, to plan and agree together, especially as Africans, on how the continent can benefit from tourism trade promotion,” he said.
Amar said that the Senegalese authorities are willing to further drive the NANTA relationship, by hosting a broad meeting with the association in Senegal in order to hone tourism and related trade openings between the two west African brother nations for the benefit of their people.Presenting a football jersey with number 10 to the President of NANTA, Amar explained that the Senegalese team won the African nations cup with its Number 10 player winning the Man of Match in the final game.
He said therefore the jersey number 10 given to NANTA, symbolised a winning strategy for NANTA for willing to open the Nigerian travel market to Senegal as the two institutions gear up to a win-win intra west coast tourism engagement. (NAN)
