Accra: A tourism expert, Mr Ikechi Uko, has urged West African tour operators to collaborate closely to promote travel and tourism within the region and achieve shared objectives. Uko spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the just-concluded eighth edition of the West African Travel Expo (Accraweizo 2025).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the event, which carried the theme ‘Reimagining The ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol’, was held in Accra, Ghana, from June 27 to July 1. The gathering centered on seamless travel in West Africa, delving into its opportunities and challenges. It featured a summit for West African tour operators and transporters.
Uko, who organises the annual event, emphasized that this year’s edition particularly focused on tour operators because they are the real enablers of regional travel. “Transporters and tour operators have been the ones sustaining regional travel, but they’ve rarely worked together,” Uko explained. He described the summit as a platform for networking, challenging one another, and forming strategies to improve collaboration.
Uko commended ECOWAS for its involvement in the summit, noting their interest and engagement in tourism and travel at a more direct level than before. He pointed out that ECOWAS has acknowledged the implementation issues with the free movement protocol and is keen on receiving a report based on the tour operators’ deliberations.
He revealed plans for Accraweizo 2026, highlighting the interest of 21 tour operators from East Africa who are planning to engage with West African counterparts. Uko stressed the goal of enhancing travel and tourism growth in the region, focusing on simplifying airport and border processes and improving access to towns and cities.
The summit’s emphasis on unity and collaboration was echoed by Yvonne Donkor, President of the Tour Operators Union of Ghana, who advocated for policies supporting cross-border tourism and continuous stakeholder dialogue. Additionally, Mrs Bolaji Mustapha, President of the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators, underscored the importance of Public-Private Partnerships for infrastructure development and proposed bilingual content to bridge the region’s language divide.
The event attracted stakeholders from various countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, Togo, Benin Republic, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, underscoring the regional interest in advancing tourism collaboration.
