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July 2018

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The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve<br />

www.thesparkng.com<br />

Visa applications – “Oh no, this country only has an embassy in Abuja!<br />

Why me Lord?” or<br />

“Please where am I supposed to find my grandmother’s birth certificate<br />

that this embassy is asking me to submit now?”<br />

Language – “I am lost in this city but I can’t explain to anyone where I am<br />

going because the only thing I remember from Google Translate is how to<br />

say rice and chicken in this language!”<br />

Cash - “After all the months of saving, I can’t believe that all these my<br />

plenty Naira is worth only 500 of this other currency!!”<br />

Unmet expectations – “Excuse me, but this hotel room does not look like<br />

what I saw on the website o”Hehehe.<br />

Being unequally yoked –“Dear diary, please remind me never to travel<br />

with this my friend again - how did we end up spending more time (and<br />

money) in Zara stores than at the museum?”<br />

I can go on and on about challenges but I think you get the point now.<br />

Travel, just like any other worthwhile endeavour, is not devoid of its<br />

challenges but I have learnt to take them in my stride and laugh about<br />

them. In the moment, it’s usually not funny but hey, we move anyway!<br />

Favourite Spots<br />

I have too many favourite places. My top 3 would be:<br />

1. Japan because my experience in that country was so deep and rich, it<br />

overflowed from my heart into a note on my phone that eventually<br />

became my first ever travel (and the unofficial launch of my writing/<br />

blogging career). Japan opened my mind and woke my fingers up!<br />

2. Lebanon because I had very low expectations (blame it on CNN) and<br />

I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the country is and how<br />

similar Lebanese and Nigerians are. I genuinely believe that we are<br />

distant cousins.<br />

3. Rwanda because I was completely blown away by how well/quickly<br />

they have rebuilt the country since the genocide in 1991 and it gave<br />

me hope that Nigeria can be great again in my lifetime.<br />

Advise for Potential Travel Bloggers and Tourists<br />

For a potential travel blogger - write from your heart and be authentic<br />

– don’t try to write like anyone else. Focus on excellence and not on being<br />

commercial – if you focus on the right thing, everything else will be added<br />

unto you. Don’t forget to enjoy your trips – it is easy to get caught up in<br />

documenting everything you see that you end up not enjoying the trip.<br />

Not all trips will be amazing or article-worthy and that’s okay – there is no<br />

wasted experience so remember to enjoy all your experiences.<br />

getting the information to complete immigration requirements (VisaHQ,<br />

relevant Consulate websites and various forums on Google), booking<br />

flights (airline websites, travel sites like Travel Start, WakaNow), securing<br />

accommodation (hotel websites, AirBnB), to discovering and planning<br />

my itinerary (TripAdvisor, Instagram feeds of country tourism sites and<br />

fellow travellers, good ol’ Google), sorting out ground transportation<br />

(Uber, Taxify, GoogleMaps), getting food and staying nourished (UberEats,<br />

Yelp), managing money matters especially on group trips (Splitwise),<br />

documenting my experiences (iPhone camera and IG stories), staying in<br />

touch with family and friends back home (WhatsApp, Facetime) and so<br />

much more.<br />

Long story short, technology provides me with relevant and timely<br />

information and services that make my travel experience simpler, richer,<br />

more efficient and more enjoyable.<br />

Role of the Government in Improving Tourism<br />

There are so many ways we can monetize tourism in Nigeria but I will focus<br />

on just 2 practical initiatives. There are 2 dimensions to tourism in Nigeria<br />

– local tourism (for Nigerians in Nigeria) and international tourism (for<br />

foreigners coming to Nigeria).<br />

For international tourism, we make money when people actually come to<br />

this country, so first things first – invest in making Nigeria an attractive<br />

tourist destination. I fell in love with Lebanon on Instagram. I keep<br />

dreaming about Bali and the Maldives because of the amazing online<br />

photos I have seen of these locations. Countries that are serious about<br />

tourism invest in showcasing their country via dedicated websites and<br />

other online channels. The power of a beautiful photograph and wellwritten<br />

experience cannot be underestimated. Nigeria needs to get<br />

serious about its online presence.<br />

The second practical initiative is more around local tourism. Even though<br />

there are a good number of potential tourist attractions/historical sites<br />

spread across Nigeria, they are either not well-known or well-maintained<br />

and therefore, not visited and therefore not commercially relevant. Believe<br />

it or not, a lot of Nigerians have not really explored Nigeria beyond Lagos,<br />

Abuja and their states of residence or origin, and they are quite keen<br />

to see more of their country. So, what we can we do? Each state should<br />

focus on improving the attractiveness of their tourist attractions because<br />

whatever revenue they make become internally-generated revenue that<br />

they get to keep 100% (if you know how the Federal Government and State<br />

Government treat revenues, you will understand how that is a big deal).<br />

The revenue will not just be from the sites themselves, but from the broad<br />

ecosystem – money spent at hotels where tourists will stay, restaurants<br />

where they will eat, tour guides they will patronize, local transport they<br />

will take, etc.<br />

For the tourist who wants to see the world – Just do it!!!! Don’t overthink it,<br />

just go! Be intentional about travel – set money aside every month for it,<br />

look for deals and packages to help you get more value for money, don’t<br />

tie your travel destiny to anyone – it is very okay to be a solo traveller<br />

sometimes. Enjoy the whole process, be adventurous and don’t go abroad<br />

to be looking for jollof rice and dodo!<br />

Impact of Technology on Travelling<br />

I rely quite heavily on technology (a combination of the internet and<br />

mobile apps) in my end-to-end travel process. From choosing a destination,<br />

“<br />

Don’t forget to enjoy your trips<br />

– it is easy to get caught up<br />

in documenting everything<br />

you see that you end up not<br />

enjoying the trip.<br />

“<br />

34<br />

@thesparkng

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