Creative Industry

100 African Tour Operators Set for Recognition at 22nd Akwaaba Travel Market

Published

2 months ago

August 5, 2026

Joel Ajayi

The 22nd Akwaaba African Travel Market will place sports tourism at the centre of its 2026 edition, bringing together tour operators from West and East Africa to explore how the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) can be leveraged to boost intra-African travel, tourism investment and regional partnerships. Scheduled to hold from September 13th to 15th, 2026, at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, the annual travel and tourism exhibition will feature the return of the African Tour Operators’ Summit, which is making a comeback after an eight-year hiatus since its inaugural edition in 2018.

According to the organizers, the summit is designed to connect tour operators from Nigeria and other West African countries with their counterparts from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, creating a platform to jointly develop travel packages for football fans expected to attend AFCON 2027, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The initiative recognises the complementary strengths of the two regions. While West Africa has long been regarded as the continent’s football powerhouse, East Africa has established itself as one of Africa’s premier tourism destinations, renowned for its wildlife, beaches, national parks and adventure tourism offerings. By combining these strengths, organisers believe the tournament can become a catalyst for increased cross-border tourism and economic collaboration.

The summit will encourage African tour operators to network, establish strategic partnerships and jointly market multi-destination itineraries that allow football supporters to combine match attendance with leisure experiences across East Africa. The collaboration is also expected to stimulate business opportunities for airlines, hotels, destination management companies and other tourism service providers.

In addition to the Tour Operators’ Summit, Akwaaba 2026 will host the Africa Travel 100 Awards for African Tour Operators on September 14th, recognising operators who have made significant contributions to promoting African destinations to African travellers.

Eligibility for nomination requires that participants must have at least five (5) years of experience in selling outbound tours into Africa, sell tours into other African countries, must have done at least five 5 tours to any African country in the last 18 months, must be based in Africa, they can be nominated by a past winner of Africa Travel 100 Awards as an endorsement while tour Operators are allowed to nominate themselves if they meet the criteria but must be endorsed by a tour operator from another country.

The AKWAABA African Travel Market remains the biggest and only travel expo in West Africa, providing a leading platform for recognition, networking, and industry engagement. The 3-day event brings together key stakeholders across the tourism and travel ecosystem and features major highlights such as the African Food Fair, Medical Tourism Expo, Africa Youth Tourism Bantaba, Wonders of Nigeria Expo, and the Aviation & Cargo Conference.

Over the years, AKWAABA African Travel Market has consistently hosted editions of the Africa Travel 100 Awards, including recognitions for Top 100 Travel Companies in West Africa in 2016, Africa Travel 100 Women in 2017, Africa Travel 100 Tour Operators in 2018, Africa Travel 100 Global Personalities in 2019, Africa Travel 100 Women in 2022, Africa Travel 100 Under 40 in 2023, Africa Travel 100 Global Leaders in 2024, and Africa Travel 100 Women in 2025.

The platform has grown to become one of the most important tourism marketing events in the region, attracting participants, exhibitors, and awardees from across Africa and beyond, including countries such as The Gambia, Kenya, Benin, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Seychelles, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Turkey, Namibia, Togo, India, São Tomé and Príncipe, Malta, the Netherlands, Bahrain, the Bahamas, Spain, Morocco, and many others.

Over the years, AKWAABA has also hosted several distinguished personalities including Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Dawda Jawara of The Gambia, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Sir Emeka Anyaoku, and former Vice President of Nigeria Sir Alex Ekwueme. The event continues to attract Ministers of Tourism, State Governors, Ambassadors, and High Commissioners from across Africa and beyond.

Described by the organisers as the “Africans for Africa Awards,” the initiative celebrates businesses advancing intra-African travel and regional tourism integration. The three-day event will also feature a broad programme of activities, including the Africa Food Fair, African Medical Tourism Forum, African Tourism Conference, destination wedding showcase, African Youth Tourism Bantaba, travel technology sessions, CHINET Aviacargo, business-to-business meetings, exhibitions and networking events.

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Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

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