Creative Industry

Gambia Tourism Minister Leads Major Delegation to Akwaaba 2026

Published

1 month ago

August 28, 2026

Joel Ajayi

The 2026 Akwaaba Travel Trade Expo is set to provide a major platform for The Gambia to showcase its tourism potential, strengthen business relationships and deepen its footprint in Nigeria and the wider African travel market.

The Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) will participate in the 2026 edition of the Akwaaba Travel Market, scheduled for September 13–15, 2026, in Lagos, bringing together key players from across Africa’s tourism, travel and aviation industries.

As part of its participation, Team Gambia will host a Destination Gambia Promotional Cocktail Reception on September 12, ahead of the main expo. The event will bring together travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and aviation stakeholders, logistics companies, investors and other tourism industry professionals.

The reception is expected to provide a strategic business platform for The Gambia to engage directly with the African travel trade, promote its tourism products and experiences, and explore opportunities for partnerships, investment and increased visitor traffic.

Leading the Gambian delegation is the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Honourable Abdoulie Jobe, accompanied by Deputy Permanent Secretary Mrs. Amie Njie; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gambia Tourism Board, Mr. Momodou Bamba Saho; and Director General of the Gambia Tourism Board, Mrs. Ida Jeng Njie, alongside tourism stakeholders from The Gambia.

A major focus of The Gambia’s participation at Akwaaba 2026 will be the promotion of the country as an emerging Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination in Africa.

With the continent experiencing growing demand for business events, conferences, exhibitions and corporate gatherings, The Gambia is seeking to leverage Akwaaba’s extensive network of travel professionals and industry decision-makers to promote its potential beyond traditional leisure tourism.

The country will use the platform to highlight its facilities, hospitality infrastructure and opportunities for hosting conferences, corporate events and other business-related gatherings. The MICE focus is also expected to create opportunities for closer collaboration between Gambian tourism operators and their Nigerian and regional counterparts, while encouraging greater business travel between the two countries.

Akwaaba Travel Market as the only travel expo in West Africa has become an important meeting point for tourism and travel professionals across Africa and international markets, providing a platform for destinations, airlines, tour operators, hotels, travel agencies and other industry stakeholders to develop commercial relationships.

For The Gambia, participation in the 2026 edition represents an opportunity to increase destination visibility in Nigeria, one of West Africa’s major travel markets, while strengthening ties with the broader regional tourism industry.

The GTBoard sees the event as part of its broader destination marketing strategy aimed at diversifying tourism markets, developing new trade partnerships and creating opportunities for the Gambian private sector.

Through its presence at Akwaaba 2026, The Gambia is expected to use Africa’s leading travel trade gathering to position itself as not only a leisure destination, but also a competitive hub for business tourism, investment, events and regional travel.

The participation underscores the growing importance of intra-African tourism and the need for stronger partnerships among destinations, travel businesses and aviation stakeholders across the continent.

Share on Facebook

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.

Share on Facebook