Video: Akwaaba African Travel Market ignites intra-African tourism at 21st edition

Abdullateef Fowewe

The 21st Akwaaba African Travel Market began on Sunday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, spotlighting West Africa’s leading international travel and tourism exhibition aimed at boosting intra-African travel, trade, and cultural exchange.

The event runs through September 16, 2025, with key partners including Lagos State Government, Air Peace, Gambia, Wakanow, and Interswitch.

Ikechi Okoh, convener and tourism expert, while speaking at the opening ceremony of the event emphasised the transformative vision behind the market since its 2004 inception.

“Nobody believed Africans could travel within Africa… if more than 10% of Africans travel within Africa, no African airline, black person, no African destination will suffer. We gotta make it louder,” he said.

Dr Abisoye Fagade, Director General/CEO National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), reinforced the importance of professionalising and standardising tourism to drive economic diversification.

“Tourism and creative economy have been identified as critical pillars for Nigeria’s economic diversification and sustainable growth.

“We must organise, represent, and present ourselves to the world with one common voice,” Fagade.

The event featured a popular Jollof Rice War, with Eko Hotel’s chief winning N250,000 for the first time.

Awards presented include: Ekiti, Lagos, and Cross River States as Most Active Tourism States; Ekiti Governor as Tourism Governor; Kwara and Plateau States for Top Festival in Nigeria; Ibom Airline as Best Airline.

The market also aims to further establish Lagos as Africa’s premier tourism and business hub, leveraging the growing domestic tourism momentum driving billion-naira hotel revenues and expanding travel opportunities across the continent.