By Anthony Nwachukwu
Africa’s biggest travel trade union, the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), has signed a marketing contract agreement with Nigeria’s hospitality giant, Eko Hotel, to upscale its cultural tourism offering, tagged the Theatre of Lights.
The over 25 creative themed cultural carnival offerings, comprising dedicated fusion of musical theatres, circus and magical shows, grand carnival processions, ice skating, and Hakuna Matata theme park and foodies offerings, prides as the biggest pan-African and continental showpiece brand out of Africa and exclusively the Christmas holiday brand of Eko Hotel in the past three years.
The African Christmas Santa offering, which started with a modest 350 record attendance in three days about three years ago, has grown to a 4,000 cheering aficionados in a two-week holiday experience, and with NANTA expectedly throwing its marketing reach to upscale the Eko Hotel leisure brand, that figure could quadruple this Christmas and in the new year 2025.
Speaking at the historic marketing trade agreement in Lagos, NANTA President, Yinka Folami, who led the Lagos zone executive to process the agreement, assured the hotel management that the body would make good all the expectations to promote and market the leisure holiday brand beyond Nigeria.
“We love this Nigerian cultural tourism story. We won’t talk too much but will power its acceptation in our usual bullish way,” Folami said. “Cultural tourism will give Nigeria a second chance economically, and we will support Eko Hotel.
He added that the Eko Hotel Theatre of Lights would light up NANTA’s participation at the forthcoming World Travel Market in London: “Among other destinations and sites in Nigeria, we shall unveil the Eko Hotel leisure brand in London. The world must come to us now, no more Dubai, Florida, Venice or London for the Christmas holidays.
“We have this exclusive African Santa offering and the biggest luxury hotel with four expansive themed hospitality outlets to accommodate various families and friends. NANTA will flourish this reality and experience to the world, including to Nigerians.
On his part, the General Manager of Eko Hotel, Ghassan Fadoul, disclosed that the hotel rose from some harsh economic realities after Covid-19 through local creative culture tourism content, noting that cultural tourism business is a big business in which NANTA and Eko Hotel can partner to sell and market Nigerian culture.
“We are proudly a Nigerian company. Together, we can bring out changes, tell Nigerian story better, and sell Nigeria as a destination, as we have great and different local opportunities that can excite the world.
“We at Eko Hotel have the experience and brand to welcome our visitors and give them a lifetime experience.”
Also, the Sales Manager, Dr. Iyadunni Gbadebo, said the hotel is intentional about the Christmas Theatre of Lights – a vehicle that must be specifically driven to break Nigerians’ long years of love and desire for foreign leisure destinations.
“We want to break the cycle of holiday traffic to Dubai and London and tell our story, the positive and enigmatic stories of our culture, music, dance, sports, the very positive vibrations of Nigeria to the world and the over 200 million people in Nigeria,” Gbadebo said.
“We believe that NANTA, which has emerged as a huge Nigerian travel trade brand, can partner us to further enrich the Nigerian leisure experience. We must partner to make gains for Nigeria and ourselves.
“Nigerians must show capacity to host the world, tell our positive stories in every human endeavor; and we can do it together. If you fact-check our strides in this engagement, we have crossed the lines, but we are positively ambitious, and NANTA’s appearance can further add to the values.”
Lagos Vice President of NANTA, who is expected to drive the initiative with his over 2,000 members, promised to deliver on the marketing partnership, noting that cultural tourism economy is the oil of the future, and NANTA is well ahead to lead in marketing Eko Hotel and its Christmas African Theatre of Lights to the world.
