By Matthew Denis
The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Kwara State, has called on the Federal Government to subsidise airfares in the country.
This, the association said could be achieved by partnering airline operators in order to boost patronage of air transport.
The state Coordinator of NANTA, Mr. Abiodun James Olawale made the call during the end of the year programme held in Ilorin, the state capital on Thursday.
He said, “Air transport among other means of transportation is considered to be the most expensive in the world. However, the Federal Government can draw out guidelines by going into partnership with the airline operators in subsidising flights tickets.
“The various charges like landing charges, luggage, FAAN, airspace among others should be reduced to the minimum, so that businesses can thrive and more investors can be encouraged to invest in aviation,” he added.
According to him, Nigeria has one of the largest populations in the world therefore more patronage by people traveling by air will boost businesses of air operators and the country’s economy.
On essence of the event, he stressed that it is targeted at uniting members to form an umbrella to curb quackery and fraudulent practice.
He therefore called on members that are yet to register with the association to do so in order to get their certificates.
In her remarks, the Director of Aminat Travel Agency, Hajia Idris Aminat Abidemi called on the Federal Government to reduce the bottlenecks in getting visa insurance.
She said, “Most of our clients who wants to travel for tourism and scholarships are discouraged because of the cumbersome procedures attached to visa collection.
“If the procedures of visa collection and the payment is reduced, many Nigerians will show interest in traveling to other countries,” she added.
On his part, the Manager of Sofato Travels and Tours, Abubakar Abdulkareem solicited support from the security agencies in order to eliminate activities of quacks in the sector.
