Leading Travel Promoters in Nigeria, Ghana Win Awards
Leading travel promoters in Nigeria and Ghana have won the awards of Top 100 Tourism Personalities in West Africa, among whom are Mrs. Uloma Egbuna, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Tour Brokers International; Mr. Simon Grindrod, the General Manager of The Wheatbaker Lagos; Dr. Michael Pinder, Group General Manager, Sun Heaven Hotels and Resorts, and Mr. Lehlohonolo Hloni Pitso, the Regional Manager West Africa for South African Tourism's regional Africa office based in Lagos, Nigeria: all from Nigeria.
From Ghana are Ms. Hazel Gumpo, the Group General Manager of Oak Plaza Hotel; Leeford Quarshie, General Manager, La Villa Boutique Hotel; Mrs. Bella Ahu, CEO of Trafix Catering Limited; Dr. Daniel McKorley, the Executive/ Chairman of McDan Group of Companies; Mr. Nicolas Jørgensen Gebara, General Manager, Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund and Mrs. Nancy Sam Quartey, Chief Executive Officer of Staple Travel and Tours, Ghana.
"The Top 100 Tourism Personalities was set up to recognise individuals who have distinguished themselves and through their efforts or that of their organisations have impacted positively on the travel and tourism sector across the West African sub region, whose efforts have stimulated and helped to achieve their individual country's tourism goals and forging interactions among stakeholders and customers across the region," says Mr. Ikechi Uko, organiser of the awards. The event which was graced by his royal highness, a former Ghana's tourism minister, the Nene Nagai Kassa VIII, Honourable Mike A. Gizo, Chief of Agomeda, and President of Shai Traditional, saw Carnival Calabar Queens from Cross River State Nigeria send the audience wild with excitement as they entertained. Ghanaian Drum dancers equally entertained.
Members of the diplomatic Corps in Ghana which included high commissioners and ambassadors, were well represented among whom are Lulu Xingwana, High Commissioner, South African High Commission in Accra – Ghana; Mr. Thomas Okyere, the Honorary Consul, Botswana Honorary Consulate in Accra – Ghana; Ambassador Pavelyn Tendai Musaka, Zimbabwe Embassy in Accra – Ghana and Mwansa S. Rowland, Deputy High Commissioner for Zambia High Commission in Accra-Ghana. The Namibian Ambassador and the Nigerian High Commissioner were also in Attendance.
The ambassadors and high commissioners were honoured with the Awards of Recognition for their outstanding roles in driving travel and tourism exchanges between their countries and West Africa. In his speech, his royal highness, a former Ghana's Tourism Minister, the Nene Nagai Kassa VIII, Honourable Mike A. Gizo, Chief of Agomeda, and President of Shai Tradition, called on stakeholders and practitioners in the travel and tourism industry in Ghana to seek progressive knowledge towards moving the industry forward by attending travel fairs, while urging them to support Accra Weizo, an ECOWAS travel fair which holds in Accra, Ghana annually.
Mrs. Uloma Egbuna's Tour Brokers International Limited (TBI) is a multiple award-winning IATA approved Tour Operator incorporated in 2002 to professionally package tourism services to selective destinations for Nigerian business and leisure travelers and expatriates living in Nigeria. She has nearly three decades experience in the travel and tourism industry. Having attended several international courses on Tourism, Egbuna is an indigene of Imo State and holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Language and Linguistics from the University of Calabar and a Master of Arts (MA) degree also in Linguistics and Languages from the University of Ibadan, and a Diploma in French. TBI has birthed two other companies, Bespoke Holidays and TBI Crusies and Tours. She is a past publicity secretary of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agents (1993- 1996) and also held the position of the Vice President (West) of the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP). In 2016, TBI won the Akwaaba African Travel Market's award of Top Travel Company in West Africa.
Mr. Simon Grindrod is the General Manager of The Wheatbaker, Lagos, Nigeria. Simon was born in Cape Town, South Africa and started his career with the Legacy Group in 1996. He has worked in several leading hotels such as The Commodore and Postswood Hotels, The Peninsula Sea Point and Bakubung Game Lodge Pilanesberg, amongst others. He served as a member of the Cape Town Mayoral Committee for Economic Development and Tourism, and has a keen interest in Arts and Culture, Economic Empowerment, Education and Human Rights. In 2016, The Wheatbaker Hotel Lagos won the Akwaaba African Travel Market's award of Top Travel Company in West Africa.
Dr. Michael Pinder is the Group General Manager of Sun Heavens Hotels and Resort. With a considerable track record in transforming underperforming hotel operations and delivering significant increases in sales and profitability, with worldwide experience, he is a highly accomplished and performance-driven professional. An English man from London with a PhD in Human Resources Management and a litany of several academic qualifications, Dr. Pinder has always maintained that it is experience not qualifications that makes an hotelier. Pinder increased occupancy levels of the Lekki Sun Heaven Hotels to 92 per cent and the Victoria Island Hotel to 70 per cent occupancy during a very challenging economic climate that included a recession and a weak currency. He also led improvements to the hotel facilities which resulted in a 4 star international brand award. Pinder is sought after as key Speaker for a number of hospitality seminars held throughout Nigeria.
Hazel Gumpo, Zimbabwean-born, is the Group General Manager of Oak Plaza Hotel. A seasoned professional with a long and illustrious career spanning 25 years in Hotel Management and Capacity Building, she has, in the last seven years, transformed the hotel into one of the most well recognised and formidable hotels in Ghana – an achievement leading to the Ghana Tourism Authority awarding the property 3 Star Hotel of the Year for 2014 and 2015 respectively. Hazel is certified in AHMA Human Resources Management and AHMA Hospitality Training. Currently, she is a consultant under AMSCO through their UNDP programme as a capacity building General Manager for the Oak Plaza Hotel. The Ghana Hotels Association awarded her as the Hotel Trainer of the Year 2015.