Chairman of African Tourism Corporate Travel (ATCT) Chief John Adebanjo has called on the Federal Government to release foreign carriers’ trapped funds in order to grow air transport business in the country.
Adebanjo said with the inability of foreign carriers to repatriate proceeds of ticket sales, how does the government intend to attract foreign direct investments into the country.
Speaking at the unveiling of a travel booking platform: eazitravel in Lagos, Adebanjo said despite the effects of COVID -19, more passengers are traveling into and out of Nigeria for with business or pleasure.
The best the government could do, he said, is ensure that global practices are adhered to in allowing foreign carriers access to their money from ticket sales.
He said the spike in travel activities is forcing airlines, online travel agencies and destination managers to evolve measures that would enable them to negotiate tickets in bulk to deliver affordable fares.
Besides, he said the revolution in air travel is forcing the biggest travel companies in the world to consolidate relationships between trade partners and consumers of air travel services to rethink cost effective methods to retain patronage.
To meet the yawning travel needs, ACTC considered the setting up of a global travel platform, that will both be user – friendly and efficient.
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He said: “ATCT is excited to launch this unique one of a kind online travel agency designed for our dynamic travel market.
“While most online travel agencies focus on traditional travel services, eazitravel went beyond that to offer a platform where passengers could book, pay and compare airlines, hotels and ground transfer to bring offline travel products online and ensure we are able to cater to all travel needs.”
He said: “The platform is going to solve major problems in the travel space. The whole idea is to add value for passengers by making the fare offering affordable, because we are talking about volumes.
“The whole package is to create a new experience for passengers by creating a solution. We are here to change the air travel architecture. This innovation is supported by the industry regulator, because we are changing the way of organising travel. The trust is there for industry partners.
“We are building an element of trust into air travel, by offering passengers convenient, simple and technology backed ways to facilitate air travel.
The demand for air travel is very high, that is the reason we must encourage the government to do the needful. Government should release block funds in order to grow the industry.”
