Abuja – Exhibitors at the ongoing Afro-tourism expo being held in Abuja have expressed satisfaction with the volume of sales they made at the event.
A cross section of the exhibitors told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday on the sideline of the expo that they made huge sales in spite of the harsh economic situation in the country.
One of the exhibitors, Mr Raphael Emea, described the expo as `eye opener’ on the huge tourism potential in the country.
He that he was not aware that the tourism industry was endowed with investment opportunities that could boost the economy.
“I have always been concentrating on online booking of ticket and other traveling packages, but the expo has educated me more on the potential in tourism, “ he said.
Emea said that the event also afforded him the opportunity to meet with other stakeholders in the industry.
Mr Elidoni Okpeta, another exhibitor, who complained of low turnout, however expressed satisfaction with the volume of sales.
Okpeta, Sales Representative of South African Airways, said that the expo gave him the opportunity to have more customers.
“Some participants came to my exhibition stand to make enquiry about the company travel package; this gave them insight on our services.
“Some of the participants indicated interest to patronise our service which is encouraging,’’ he said and urged the Federal Government to engage Private, Public Partnership to develop the tourism industry.
Mrs Oluwakemi Ojo, an exhibitor, urged the organisers to embark on aggressive publicity in the next edition of the expo to increase the number of participants.
She said that the speech delivered by the guest lecturer at the event had enlightened him more on the immense opportunities in the sector.
The organiser of the expo, Mr Joesef Karim, said he would concentrate more on aggressive marketing of the expo in the coming year.
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He said that finance was a major challenge that led to low turnout of participants.
“The funds available were not sufficient to make the event a big one, but I promise something better in the next edition, “ he said. (NAN)