Nigerian hospitality sector: Still resilient
While global economies are showing signs of recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that lingered for almost two years, the global hospitality sector seems to be out of the woods faster than earlier predictions by experts.
hospitality and travel experts attribute the feat to the safety courtesy of the removal of travel restrictions, full opening of borders by governments and restoration of full flight operations by airlines.
As at today, the sector surpassed the 2019 benchmark of over 85 percent global average occupancy rate in some regions in America, europe and Middle east, especially over the last summer.
The recovery is also obvious in Africa as the flights are back, though expensive. Today, businesses have re guests
As normalcy returns in the global travel sector, recovery is now obvious in Africa, with intraafrican travel fast picking up, corporate meetings, events and leisure guests returning to hotels across the continent.
The development, according to Wayne Troughton, CEO, hti Consulting, a hospitality consulting firm, is going to be sustained and will further prepare the ground for Africa’s hospitality sector to soar even above the 2019 boom levels this year. in Nigeria, the hotels are attesting to the recovery despite the harsh business environment. The recovery is evident with the significant rebound of the sector in the first half of this year (h1 2022), after two years of pandemic-related disruptions.
The huge rebound, resulting in 70 percent average occupancy in h1, according to the sector stakeholders, was due to improved business activities in the sector boosted by the return of foreign guests and business travelers who constitute about 60 percent of guests at international branded hotels, as well as increased corporate and government patronage across both independent and foreign brands.
in the h1 2022, business activities recovered to almost 2019 levels, especially across the major international brands, with Transcorp hilton hotel Abuja, leading in revenue earnings.
Confirming the good performance of the sector, Christophe Noel, general manager, Radisson Blu hotel ikeja, lagos, disclosed in a recent interview that business has been good in the first half of the year with sustained occupancy. “So far, i cannot tell you that we have been badly affected. We have good occupancy”, he said.
Owen Omogiafo, president/ Group CEO, Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group), said that in half year of 2022, the Group recorded strong performance in its power and hospitality businesses, which continued to perform excellently despite the tough operating environment.
The sector is expected to perform even better in the rest of the year despite the harsh economy and uncertainties associated with elections in Nigeria, especially for the 2023 general election.
experts think that the good performance would be sustained because global travel has resumed and the world is on the move again and Nigeria cannot afford to lag, as well as the hospitality sector.
“With the devalued Naira, Nigeria is a cheap destination to visit now, i see businesses coming more now because of the huge population potential too”, the expert said.
Meanwhile, World Tourism Day, the reason for this report, is worth celebrating.
Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has celebrated World Tourism Day as international observances on September 27 of every year. The UNWTO uses that day to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
The 2022 edition is being celebrated on the theme: ‘Rethinking Tourism’, and it is hosted at the global level by indonesia, while in Nigeria, it is hosted in lagos State by the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigerian (FTAN) with many activities across the state and other parts of the country.