In a move considered to be both historic and groundbreaking in the Nigerian travel space, Wakanow, has teamed up with major airlines in Nigeria to crash airfares for customers and empower more people to afford air travel. This is coming on the heels of her recent announcement of a transition from a two-week Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) to pioneer a daily remittance cycle that would significantly reduce fares for travelers.
The Group Managing Director of Wakanow, Mr. Obinna Ekezie, noted that this is the first phase of a larger campaign to further reduce airfares for its customers in Nigeria, with comprehensive plans to extend the same offering to the larger African travel market.
“While Africa accounts for about 12% of the world’s population, it accounts for a paltry 1% of the global travel market. One of the reasons the numbers are that low in Africa is the high cost of airfares in the continent, exacerbated by a foreign exchange crisis in countries like Nigeria. So, we are taking the initiative to reduce fares and contribute to empowering about 5million more passengers to afford air travel,” Mr. Ekezie said.
He further explained that the partnership with Airlines, which has seen airfares on the Wakanow portal reduced as much as 30%, will be followed by similar arrangements with other carriers across the continent.
Stakeholders in the Nigerian travel industry believe the partnership between Wakanow and the Airlines on daily remittances is a great boost to the Single Africa Air Travel Market (SAATM) initiative by the African Union as a liberalized air travel market will offer significant value to the African economy through sustainable job creation and stronger GDP earnings.
Wakanow is Africa’s largest Online Travel Agency with commercial operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and the UK. The company is currently undertaking a large expansion project which will result in stronger footprint across Africa, the UK and USA. Wakanow currently process over 15,000 bookings in Nigeria monthly as the demand for African travel continues to grow.
The Group Managing Director of Wakanow, Mr. Obinna Ekezie, noted that this is the first phase of a larger campaign to further reduce airfares for its customers in Nigeria, with comprehensive plans to extend the same offering to the larger African travel market.
“While Africa accounts for about 12% of the world’s population, it accounts for a paltry 1% of the global travel market. One of the reasons the numbers are that low in Africa is the high cost of airfares in the continent, exacerbated by a foreign exchange crisis in countries like Nigeria. So, we are taking the initiative to reduce fares and contribute to empowering about 5million more passengers to afford air travel,” Mr. Ekezie said.
He further explained that the partnership with Airlines, which has seen airfares on the Wakanow portal reduced as much as 30%, will be followed by similar arrangements with other carriers across the continent.
Stakeholders in the Nigerian travel industry believe the partnership between Wakanow and the Airlines on daily remittances is a great boost to the Single Africa Air Travel Market (SAATM) initiative by the African Union as a liberalized air travel market will offer significant value to the African economy through sustainable job creation and stronger GDP earnings.
Wakanow is Africa’s largest Online Travel Agency with commercial operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and the UK. The company is currently undertaking a large expansion project which will result in stronger footprint across Africa, the UK and USA. Wakanow currently process over 15,000 bookings in Nigeria monthly as the demand for African travel continues to grow.
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