Nigeria’s travel industry to contribute 2.59m jobs by 2027

Nigeria’s Travel industry’s contribution to employment is expected to rise by 3.6% per annum to 2,598,000 jobs  in 2027.

Travelstart Nigeria, an online African t ravel agency, gave the figure in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday.

The Country Manager, Travelstart Nigeria, Phillip Akesson, said that the statistics was part of an economic impact assessment of travel and tourism by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

“The expected rise per annum can be attributed to the fact that Nigerians now spend more on domestic travels.

“The statistics further disclosed that the total contribution of the travel and tourism industry to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was ₦5,124.3 billion (4.7% of GDP) in 2016.

“It was expected to rise to ₦7,507.7 billion in 2017,’’ he said.

Akesson said that the travel industry contributed 4.5% of employments in in Nigeria in 2016.

The country manager said that in view of the travel industry’s contribution to employment, Travelstart Nigeria was focusing on local content that would reshape the industry.

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He said that the organisation had catered for more than half a million Nigerians in its six years of existence and grown its affiliate networks.

He  added that the organisation had employed about 50 Nigerians.

According to Akesson, there is a huge demand for a technology-based solution for travelers in Nigeria.

According to him, the demand has helped the travel agency to expand its Nigerian operations to surpass established markets in Namibia and Kenya.

“The industry focuses on meeting customers’ needs within the aspects of price, payment choices, trust and customer service.

“In order to play our part in developing the industry, Travelstart added a walk-in service to allow customers build human connection with the company.

“This has helped to improve customers’ trust in us,’’ he said.