Nigerians are sentimental travellers- British Airways’ survey

A British Airways’ (BA) survey of 2,000 travelling-respondents from 10 countries showed that 41 per cent of Nigerian travellers considered travel as an important thing to achieve this year for relaxation and for other ventures.

“Nigerians are less inclined to consider travel an essential objective compared to other nationalities. Even so, 41 percent of Nigerians and 36 percent of their South African counterparts consider it a priority,’’ the survey.

The British Airways commercial manager for Nigeria, Mr Kola Olayinka, said that the survey showed that 47per cent of people regarded travel as an important thing to achieve this year.

“Indians are the keenest to travel, with 70per cent setting it as an aim this year, followed by Chinese at 61per cent and Emiratis at 58per cent.

“Celebrities do not have much influence when it comes to travel trends, with nearly half the respondents saying the doings of the rich and famous are not a factor in choosing a destination,” he said.

Olayinka said that South Africans were less impressed than most with 61per cent paying no heed to where the who is who would be spending their holidays.

He added that by contrast, 32per cent of Nigerians agreed that celebrity affirmation was a major factor in choosing a destination, with 27 per cent others saying that it was quite important.

He said that some consensus about cities that feature on their 2017 to-do list were as follows; South Africans citing Paris (34per cent), London (32per cent) and New York (29per cent).

He said that for Nigerians; New York topped the list with (37per cent), followed by London (36per cent ) and Paris (33per cent).

According to him, 51 percent of respondents say they will learn a new language to facilitate their travels, although only 38per cent of South Africans feel this is necessary compared to 63per cent of Nigerians.

He said that the survey showed that only 16 per cent travellers from the UK said they would likely expand their linguistic skills.

Olayinka said that amongst the Africans surveyed, French topped the list of languages they would be keen to learn with 73per cent of Nigerians and 37per cent of South Africans aspiring to impress Parisian waiters.

He said that for both groups Spanish, German, Italian and Mandarin featured on the top five list.

He said that nearly half the respondents, 48per cent agree that creating amazing memories was the main reason they look forward to travelling.

He said that Nigerians were particularly fond of their travel memories, with 69 per cent of them citing these as a motivation.

Fifty-eight percent of Nigerians said fond reminiscences was why they travel, he said.

“Who knew that Nigerians were so sentimental? I will assume that sightseeing or enjoying a family holiday would have topped the list of reasons why we travel.

“These occasional surveys help us test our assumptions and can provide some helpful insights to customers’ wishes.

“For example, South Africans generally are not interested in celebrity destinations, but it is more of a consideration for Nigerians,” he said.