By Stanley Ugagbe
Leading travels support company in sub-Saharan Africa, Wahalanodey has revealed that it is making efforts to make Nigeria a tourist destination.
According to the company’s director, Jonadab Arueya, the organization is working assiduously with other agencies in the industry to make Nigeria a tourist hub that is capable of generating revenues that could lift the nation out of its current ugly economic state.
As part of their efforts to achieve the company’s goals, the agency, in commemoration of the 2019 customers week, rallied across Lagos to sensitize the populace on its services on October 9th.
Fielding questions from our Correspondent, Jonadad said “today’s rally was to create awareness. To make people know that we have come and the industry is here to stay”.
The director explained that “before, people celebrate the banking sector, the manufacturing sector, every other sector but they never see a need to celebrate the travel industry. This awareness is to tell them that we are among those people who can celebrate them”.
Asked on what the agency is about, Jonadab succinctly averred that “it’s a travel management agency and an advisory agent”. He added that “we strive to provide our customers with the very best service in the industry. Our team is driven with passion to be a solution provider to all travel request”.
While lamenting the low percentage of people who are able to travel, Mr Jonadab said Wahanodey aims to massively increase the number.
He said “our agenda is that we could be able to meet up the number of people who can travel….at the moment we have not been able to clinch 20% of the trust we have of the total number of population of people who want to travel, so we are trying to see how we can bridge that and at least raise it to 50%”.
The company’s boss called on the Buhari-led Federal Government to revamp the tourist industry so as to make the nation a tourist hub.
Citing other countries particularly South Africa, the director said tourism is capable of transforming the nation’s economy from its current deteriorated state and urged the government to hastily come on board to build the industry.
Jonadab said “we need the government to put hands together and build the tourist industry. We are lacking behind. We have a lot we could sell to the world but we are not selling anything”.
He continued that “we are just on our comfort zone thinking that we are doing the best but the government could do better. We need the government to come on board to make this industry go bigger and also make it an hub, an investment, an economic boost for Nigeria”.
Asked on what inspired the name “Wahalanodey,” Jonadab stated that the founders were concerned about the numerous challenges people were going through as regards traveling and they came up with the initiative to be a solution, hence the name Wahalanodey.
The company whose slogan is “Oya Come Make We Go” is located at the heart of Ikorodu.
