The National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies says it is confident that the Federal Government’s intervention will curb suppression in the nation’s travel market, commending the Ministry of Aviation for moves aimed at protecting fair competition and industry growth.
Speaking on the issue, NANTA President, Yinka Folami, confirmed that the Association’s proposals have been well received by the authorities: “The Ministry of Aviation has accepted our proposal on paper, with good administrative faith. The minister is not comfortable with any activities of any player that will suppress the Nigerian travel sector market.”
Folami disclosed that discussions were already taking place at different levels of government. “I am aware that inter-agency and inter-departmental meetings are on, and the whole idea is to stop any form of suppression of the Nigerian market,” he said.
According to him, the association is encouraged by the government’s response and is hopeful that corrective measures will soon take effect.
“So, to that extent, the Ministry of Aviation has been responsive, and we are quite optimistic that this issue will be addressed and stopped once and for all. And I am aware that that is the position of the Ministry. We want that issue to be stopped once and for all.”
Folami further explained that travel agencies expect to be carried along in the next phase of deliberations. “I believe that at a later stage, the Ministry will extend those meetings to the travel agency community so that we can feed them back with what the present level of activities is,” he noted.
Reiterating NANTA’s stance, Folami stressed that the association would not stand by and allow unfair practices in the market. “We are also positive that the issue will be stopped once and for all. We can’t all fold our arms and allow the suppression of our market. As welcoming as we are, the players that we welcome also respect the market. That’s the position we are at now.”
NANTA recently raised concerns over practices by some foreign airlines accused of limiting ticket inventories and restricting access to lower fare classes for Nigerian passengers. The association noted that such practices distort the market, hurt travel agencies, and place an undue burden on consumers, many of whom already grapple with high travel costs due to foreign exchange shortages.
Speaking on this issue, Folami told the PUNCH about the issue of foreign-based agencies undercutting prices for tickets originating from Nigeria.
According to him, “It is not fair to the Nigerian market. It is called cross-border trading, and we are already talking to the government about it. We have a situation where for a Lagos-London ticket, it is cheaper to buy in Asia,” Folami explained.
He explained, “For example, it is cheaper to buy in Asia than in Nigeria. If you can be a travel agency in Asia, why can’t you be a Nigerian travel agency, particularly when you travel from Nigeria? That is what we are saying. It is called cross-border trading, and it is bad for the market.”
Folami warned that this practice is damaging the domestic travel industry by allowing foreign agencies to undercut local operators. “It is hurting the market. It is like we are giving those foreign travel agencies the opportunity to undercut our market. It is not fair. We are urging the government to step into it. That is what we are saying.
