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…Urges government to invest in infrastructure, leverage PPP to unlock full tourism potential
Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industry is growing steadily, according to the Founder, GATEHUB Company, Vera Iremuah Ohioma, who is specialized in tourism, hospitality, and real estate.
Ohioma, Tourism Invest Africa project lead, has over 22 years of experience in corporate travel within the oil and gas sector, charter airlines, tourism, hospitality marketing and management, offering extensive expertise.
In this interview, Ohioma emphasized the need for greater investment in infrastructure and strategic public-private partnerships to strengthen the sector.
She is passionate about mentoring and sharing insights on industry trends, focusing exclusively on marketing African destinations for business and leisure. Ohioma believes in showcasing Africa’s culture, heritage, natural wonders, warm hospitality, and people to the world.
Adopting a “Buy Africa by Africans” approach, she said it is time to build on our uniqueness as a country.
Journey into Hospitality
As a young girl, I always dreamed of building a career in the banking industry, as I had no in-depth knowledge about the tourism and hospitality sector. Back then, the industry seemed vague and unappealing for career building. My only understanding of it came from the 1986 Chuck Norris movie “The Delta Force,” which depicted pilots and cabin crew. Interestingly, after missing the final stage of a successful interview process with the Managing Director of Standard Trust Bank, I gave up on banking and joined an aviation company that operated a travel agency and domestic charter airline. That marked the beginning of my career, where I had to actively seek and carve out a solid path in this field. Over the years, the industry has evolved, becoming more professional and rewarding than ever before.
How how has the terrain been
I started my 9-to-5 career in 2003, working for a domestic airline and travel agency, as well as a corporate travel company. In 2016, I took a career break to pursue entrepreneurship, driven by a desire to address challenges in Africa’s tourism and hospitality industry. In 2017, I founded the company GATEHUB. Like other sectors, it comes with its challenges but also opportunities.
In 2020, we resolved to focus exclusively on marketing African destinations for business and leisure. We believed it was time to showcase Africa’s culture, heritage, natural wonders, warm hospitality, and people to the world. However, we first needed to package African destinations for Africans, adopting a “Buy Africa by Africans” approach.
Global outlook
Our company aims to reach a global audience with a technology-driven workforce and a service-oriented approach that aligns with GATEHUB’s mission. We currently serve clients in Nigeria and the Diaspora, while building a strong network of partners both on the continent and internationally. Our goal is to cater to a diverse global audience, including second and subsequent generations of the Diaspora, not just predominantly white communities.
Challenges and opportunity
My colleagues and I face several challenges in this business, including the high cost of intra-African travel and visa restrictions that hinder Africans from exploring the continent. We also deal with on-ground vendors who often lack a clear understanding of the business’s purpose in the experience economy. On the bright side, technology has been a huge help in boosting workforce efficiency and maintaining service quality and standards. However, the industry still struggles with a lack of data, making it challenging and demanding significant effort to attract investors.
Workforce
We have a hybrid workforce system that we engage based on task demands. Sometimes, this requires hiring individuals from other parts of Africa on a job contract basis. Technology serves as a crucial tool in enabling work to be done effectively across borders.
Advice for youths
The Tourism and Hospitality industry is one of the largest employers and has grown significantly with innovative experiences like agro-tourism, medical tourism, cultural tourism, eco-tourism, wellness and sports tourism, luxury tourism, food tourism, sustainable tourism, and more. It’s a dynamic field to build a thriving career, with technology making it more impactful and easier to navigate.
CSR and Sustainability
Tourism practices are crucial in contributing to the UN SDGs. As a business, we engage our partners and clients by implementing best practice models that reduce waste, promote local culture, and support preservation through the initiatives we collaborate with.
Nigeria’s hospitality industry
Allow me to highlight the positive impact of COVID, which also brought advancements in technology. The hospitality industry in Nigeria is growing and improving daily. Perhaps it is time to build on our uniqueness as a country, reflecting it in the services and packaging that blend our culture with the warm hospitality of our hotels.
Clients
At GATEHUB, we strive every day to elevate our services beyond the previous day because we believe our products and services should embody the brand we’re building even before advertising them. When we create innovative experiences and packages, we give it our all for the initial group 10 people, knowing they’ll share their experiences with another 10 or 20. This word-of-mouth builds our customer base, drives retention, encourages repeat business, and makes advertising an easier, more effective boost for visibility.
Call to government
Infrastructure provides access to tourist sites, often bundled with hotels and accommodations. Supportive business policies and investors play a crucial role. The challenges have been significant, requiring substantial effort. A public-private partnership is an excellent way for the government to participate in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The foreign exchange issue(Forex)
Absolutely, it reduced demand for international travel as the exchange rate and economy impacted the discretionary income of the market we serve. But on a brighter note, it led to an increase in domestic tourism, which is why the government must invest in infrastructure.
Looking ahead
What is your next line of plan
As a business, our mission is to solve one problem at a time. We are developing a comprehensive system for Bleisure tourism, mature travel, and agrotourism, leveraging technology to empower these diverse markets in achieving our goals.
How has competition been
Healthy competition is crucial in any industry, driving better service quality and fostering growth. As a business, our core values are entirely YOU-centric, emphasizing the importance of listening to our customers, which sets us apart from the competition.
Any foreign partnership
Collaboration is essential to our business, and we take pride in building partnerships with key companies and partners, both locally and internationally, who share similar goals.
