NANTA to ensure travellers comply with COVID-19 protocols
Mrs Susan Akporiaye, the National President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, (NANTA), in this interview with OYENIRAN APATA, spoke on development in the travel sector of tourism that suffered a standstill and responsibility of members of the association to support government effort to control the spread of the disease. Excerpts:
Can you give an overview of the devastating effect of the disease on the travel business and your members?
The effect of the COVID-19 hit aviation and travel sector too bad. From the local to the international airlines the sector was hardest hit by the COVID-19.
To the travel agencies through which air tickets are sold to facilitate air travel, the effect was devastating. The travel agency or consultant is the platform through which aviation products are sold.
It had been devastating because the sector was on complete shutdown. Even when the shutdown was lifted, some other industries picked up bit by bit and returned to business by operating on a small scale. The reverse was the case with travel agencies as the sector remained locked because airlines were put on hold all over the world.
That period lasted for about six months of agony as businesses were at a standstill.
What is the update on the bailout promised by the Federal government; have your members been settled like some sector?
Talking about the different bailout promised by the government, the travel agency sector is yet to receive anything while our counterparts in other parts of the world were supported.
Now that airports are open, it may interest you to note that business has remained slow. The travel agency sector of airline and general travelling is yet to recover. We are still facing so many restrictions here and there. COVID-19 devastated the travel agencies businesses in Nigeria.
Now that the second wave has set in and causing ripples across the world, do you foresee a further loss of businesses?
I am optimistic the sector will put the experiences of the first outbreak behind and use that as a pedestal to survive the second wave.
However, we have not fully recovered from the harrowing experience of the first wave and our members are still trying to figure out what to do to bounce back into the business.
A lot of my members are facing challenges of renewal of rents of their business premises. Some of them don’t even have offices to operate because they can’t even afford to pay rents.
It is that bad. Should the government pronounce a second lockdown what will happen should be best imagined.
However, my optimism remained unchanged and I have trust in God HE will give Nigeria and our leaders the wisdom to properly handle the second wave from escalating. I feel the restrictions in place could be further reviewed and ensure enforcement is further strengthened to put the second wave at bay.
What is your assessment of the fight against the spread of COVID-19 by the various organs of the government?
I must congratulate the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control for all the protocol put in place to check the influx of local and international passengers’ movement into the country and local travels.
The protocol borders on what to do before coming and a repeat of the same protocol after seven days were perfect. What the government needs to do against the announcement of another shut down is to strictly enforce compliance with the protocols.
I am happy that the government already spoke my mind against another lockdown. The implications of another lockdown are enormous.
The government is still struggling to get it right and give enough support to private and even government businesses.
The government should enforce compliance with the restrictions already put in place and ensure that the seven-day repeat test is adhered to without exception. Penalty for violators should be strict irrespective of creed or colour of the offenders. The government should strengthen the tracking of visitors.
All health and hygiene specified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) must be adhered to from departure to arrival and all tests must be negative before passengers from the two countries are allowed to board or disembark.
The house committee is yet to decide to ban flights from the UK, the USA and other places, how will this affect the operations of travel agents?
I do not think the government should introduce a ban on international flights. I do not support such because the United Kingdom and the United States of America are the prime places Nigerians travel to frequently.
Now that most of the places have shut down, many people with families in these two countries have not had the opportunity to visit members of their families for a long time.
The UK and the US are major for Nigerian citizens because of families residing in these places. These are second homes for many Nigerians.
Banning flight from the UK and the USA will amount to a partial lockdown. Where else in the world do Nigerians visit frequently aside from the two places?
If Nigerians are not travelling to the countries for tourism, many have their families resident and children schooling in the two countries.
It is not a good idea. However, flights coming into Nigeria from the UK and the USA should be subjected to thorough check and measures to prevent carriers of the disease coming into the country. Both airlines and passengers must be subjected to stricter scrutiny and checks before landing and entering the country.
Beside government putting in place some measure to curtail the spread of Coronavirus, what is the responsibility of travel consultants in the campaign?
Our responsibility in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 and the second wave is to continue and spread the messages of the government.
The government has outlined various measures which my members are aware of. So, it rests on us to carryout out our operations within the scope of the various measures.
We have a platform where our members meet and propagate information against the spread of the disease. Our duty as travel agents and consultants is to make sure that our clients comply with all protocols before coming to us. They are bound to adhere strictly to the measure because we understand and know what we stand to lose.
We are committed to assisting the government in enforcing all protocol to check the spread of the disease. If we fail to do this as stakeholders in the Nigerian business environment the sector will suffer.
So, it is the responsibility of travel agents to ensure that the people we are consulting for or prepared for travelling comply with the protocols. We have every responsibility to also enforce government regulations on COVID-19 protocols.
As travel consultants, we must play our roles and endure that clients comply. Members of the association are aware of the protocols and have joined forces with the government and the association is actively involved in the campaign to ensure safe and disease-free travel experts within and outside the country.
We have heard cases of high profile and government officials breach travel protocols, what can your member do if faced with official highhandedness?
There is no exception for low or high profile clients and members of the association are aware of this. We are soliciting for the cooperation of the government so that officials do not beat checks but submit to all measures.
