One of Africa’s most Prominent Women Senator Florence Ita Giwa the Chairperson of The Carnival Calabar and a Promoter of African Cuisine will be the Special Guest at this year’s Jollof Rice Competition at Akwaaba African Travel Market. The Culinary Tourism Contest will involve The 3 West African Countries of Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia. Last year 25 chefs from Ghana and Nigeria participated in the first #jollofricewar contest.
This year Gambia Tourism Board has nominated Mrs. Ida Cham of Yabouy Home cooking to represent The Gambia. The Nigerian Council of Arts and Culture will be Presenting Nigeria good Culture at The Nigerian day at Akwaaba.
According to the DG Otunba Runsewe, Nigerians need to project their rich culture in different manners. “Our very rich Cuisine is worthy of global acclaim. What we did in Russia at The World Cup showcasing Nigerian culture to the World is the template we want to use to make the world fall in love with Nigeria and its rich culture.” The President of the World Craft Council wants Nigerians and foreigners to visit the NCAC stand to learn more about NAFEST and other Cultural events happening in Nigeria. Nigeria day is on Sunday the 9th of September. This comes after confirming 15 Travel Companies from Dubai to Showcase at Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos
This comes as Gambia Tourism Board seeks to renew their presence in Nigeria. As part of latest efforts to increase awareness for The Gambia as an all year tourism destination for discerning Nigerian visitors and prospective investors, the Gambia Tourism Board has announced its participation at the 14th Akwaaba – African Travel Market holding in Lagos between Sunday 9th to Tuesday 11th September 2018. The Gambia has confirmed participation with a 20-man delegate for the event to include Top stakeholders in the industry to be led by the DG Gambia Tourism Board.
Earlier this year, the Akwaaba travel market team had organised the ‘Banjul Bantaba’ event with a Familiarization trip to the Gambia and a high powered B2b session which showed Nigerians the amazing potentials for Touristic splendour and introduced some of the new tour operators to the destination. The fall out was amazing with increasing requests for packages to The Gambia. The organisers of Akwaaba Travel Market, West Africa’s largest meetings and exhibition event is excited to announce that Gambia will be participating this year after 3 years of absence from the Annual trade show in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the Marketing Director, Gambia Tourism Board, Adama Njie promised visitors to The Gambia stand on Gambia Day an unforgettable Gambian experience. Top hotels, Tour Operators and stakeholders will be attending from The Gambia.
He assured visitors a “taste of some of our national cuisine, music and multimedia presentation of the range of our trendy and exquisite resort facilities, cultural patrimony, ecotourism, exotic fauna and flora attributes throughout our beautiful country, which have earned The Gambia the acronym –the Smiling Coast of Africa.
The Gambia Day event is set to flow from Sunday with the Jollof rice contest into Monday where the Gambia Day proper will hold, The Gambia is keeping no secrets as they will be deploying the best of the team to meet Nigerians and see the beautiful loving tourist destination. Gambia Tourism Board wants Nigerians to know that they are welcomed at any time and the event is open for all. With increased access to the Gambia offered by flights Asky and Airpeace, Banjul with its beautiful beaches and rich culture is accessible to all travellers in Africa. The Gambia will be raffling a week stay in Banjul for Trade partners at Akwaaba for Lucky winners.
The leading Tourism Destination in Middle East and Africa, Dubai will be attending Akwaaba for this year with over 15 companies. Dubai has become the biggest Destination for Nigerian Travellers with over 20 flights a day terminating in Dubai from Lagos and Abuja. It is believed that over 300,000 Nigerians pass through Dubai every year.
These Companies coming under DTCM include: Jumeirah, Red Apple, Khimji, Sun and Sand, Apha Tours, Swissotel, Copthorne Hotel, Rayna Tourism, Mgallery, Arabian Adventures among others.
