By Yemi Olakitan with agency reports
On Tuesday, a group of visitors from Malaysia and Indonesia visited several tourist locations inside the city of Lagos in order to further market the destinations to potential tourists in their respective countries and to attract investors.
The tourists, who had previously travelled around various African nations, intend to travel to Ghana and Liberia for the same purposes in the near future.
Terra Kulture, Nike Art Gallery, Lekki Conservation Centre, Freedom Park, National Museum, and Makoko Seafood Market are just some of the places that may be found on a tourist’s itinerary while in Lagos.
The leader of the group, a Malaysian man named Lee Loong, explained that the country of Nigeria was selected as the destination for the trip because it is often regarded as the most well-known nation in all of Africa. Loong praised Nigeria for its breathtaking landscapes and diverse cultural and historical heritage. He stated that his trip to the country had helped him transform his bad opinion of the country as a place that lacked security, was overcrowded, and had the issue of traffic congestion. He mentioned this.
Gan Hong, Lee Sei Loong, and Wong Chong Wah are tourists from Malaysia, and Ong Bie Lian and Tjung Tjeng Tjin are tourists from Indonesia. Although Nigeria is undeniably the place to go, the nation has to put more effort into repositioning its many tourist attractions. According to what he had to say, “enough information needs to be provided at each tourism destination in order to further educate visiting visitors.”
Some of the tourists who were standing next to the automobile of the late General Muritala Mohammed at the National Museum in Onikan Loong discussed the difficulties they had encountered while visiting Nigeria. They mentioned the lengthy and expensive procedure of obtaining a Nigerian visa. When compared to the visa requirements of other nations he has travelled to, he stated that the Nigerian visa was the most expensive to obtain. “Getting our visas to travel here was such a challenging procedure for us; Nigeria needs to be more organised, and solid infrastructure should be put in place at tourist areas. He stated, “I look forward to returning back soon to come experience the Eyo celebration.”
He mentioned that the crew would be travelling to nine different nations in Africa during their trip: Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Liberia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.
Loong predicted that by the time they finished their travels, they would have acquired enough information to persuade prospective travellers from all over the world to visit whatever location they choose inside those countries. The difficulties that were experienced were disclosed by Mr. Olugbenga Adebayo, Managing Director of Gadeshire Travels and Tours, the company that organised the vacation. According to Adebayo, he was unable to obtain visas for his clients and was forced to go through unnecessary procedures at a number of tourist spots. He suggested that there have to be rules that are more accommodating, so as to encourage tour operators in marketing Nigeria as a tourism destination. According to Adebiyi, there is also a need for the people living in the community to be taught on the significance of extending a warm welcome to visitors from out of town.
