Port Harcourt Bantaba 2017…Opening Nigeria’s South-South to the World
The maiden edition of the Port Harcourt Bantaba took place on the 16th and 17th of March 2017. The event was organized by ATQNews. com organizers of the annual AKWAABAAfrica Travel Market, the only travel and tourism Expo in West Africa.
The two-day event featured a host of important players in the travel and tourism, as well as hospitality industry from different parts of the country and beyond. Among them was the CEO of Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Karigoka Kaseke. An award ceremony took place to close proceedings. Some of the winners include Eko Hotels, HBC Resort Jos, Nike Lake Resort Enugu, De Edge Hotels Port Harcourt, Air Peace, and of course the Grandfather of Nigerian Tourism, Chief Mike Amachree JP. Bantaba, a meeting event for travel professionals was initiated in 2011 as the Abuja Bantaba. However, the event was suspended after two years due to the security challenges in Abuja due to the Boko Haram insurgency. The word Bantaba is of Mandinka origin meaning meeting, according to Ikechi Uko the host of the event. With the success of the event in Port Harcourt, there are expectations that the event will rotate around the state of the federation from time to time.