…equips travel agents for global market
Travel agents in Nigeria are grappling with staffing shortages, knowledge gaps and foreign exchange pressures that threaten their ability to compete globally, Ezekiel Ikotun, Managing Director of Finchglow Travels has said.
Ikotun spoke in Abuja at the weekend at Finchglow’s PartnerPlus Connect (PPC) event themed “Future Ready: Expanding Global Horizons,” where industry stakeholders gathered to discuss emerging challenges and opportunities in Nigeria’s travel and tourism sector.
According to him, the initiative was designed to empower travel professionals with timely industry information, technology insights and global best practices. “As a consolidator, our goal is to educate our customers, who are travel professionals, equip them with the right knowledge, expose them to industry updates and make them global players in the scale of things,” he said.
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Ikotun noted that many travel agents, particularly those without International Air Transport Association (IATA) accreditation, lack direct access to critical information on airline deals, ticket architecture, technology and regulatory changes. “Some of them are not IATA agents, which means they don’t have direct access to certain industry information. PartnerPlus Connect is about closing that gap,” he added.
Beyond knowledge gaps, Ikotun identified staffing shortages, largely driven by the ‘japa’ phenomenon, as a major constraint for travel agencies. He also cited limited access to funds and weak business architecture as factors preventing many agents from scaling their operations and competing internationally.
Addressing the challenge of dollar ticketing and foreign exchange restrictions, Ikotun said policy instability has created inconsistencies in airline pricing and settlement systems. While some airlines insist on dollar-denominated ticket sales, Finchglow, he explained, has adopted strategies to cushion the impact on its partners.
“As a global player, we leverage our corporate clients who pay in dollars to mitigate this effect. We also negotiate dual-currency settlements with some airlines, allowing tickets to be issued in either naira or dollars, depending on availability. For our trade partners, we often ask them to pay in naira while we source the dollars, so they don’t bear the full burden,” he said
Ikotun stressed that the fare volatility facing the industry is not necessarily driven by airline profiteering but by broader policy and foreign exchange uncertainties. “The margins in the travel business are very thin. Airlines are simply protecting themselves against instability and the fear of the unknown,” he said.
To keep agents informed, Ikotun said Finchglow organises monthly engagement forums, weekly industry newsletters and continuous online training sessions.
In 2024 alone, he noted that the company hosted three physical PartnerPlus Connect events in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, with plans to expand to Kano and increase the number of annual sessions next year.
He added that Finchglow remains actively engaged with key industry bodies, including the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and IATA, to advocate fair policies and improved operating conditions. “We are part of stakeholder conversations at national and regional levels, including ECOWAS, to help reduce pressure from fares and taxes,” he said.
He commended recent efforts by the Minister of Aviation to stabilise the sector, noting that most airlines have transitioned back to naira ticketing post-COVID-19. However, he acknowledged that achieving fairness and consistency across the industry remains a work in progress.
Also speaking, Abiola Bakare, Manager, B2B at Finchglow Travels Limited, highlighted the need for sustained government engagement, particularly in addressing regulatory inconsistencies and promoting local capacity such as Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities, which could significantly reduce capital flight.
Bakare said initiatives like PartnerPlus Connect are critical to ensuring that local travel agents are not left behind but are instead positioned to compete effectively in the global travel ecosystem.
