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