16 June 2008
Western Africa is growing in popularity, attracting more visitors every year who are looking for new experiences and cultures, wildlife and pristine waters.
Professionals of tourism in the region are on a constant mission of promoting tourism in the Western region, and are currently preparing for the fourth edition of the Akwaaba Travel Market (ATM) in Lagos, Nigeria, to take place on October, 24th and 25th.
The event will reunite members of the tourism industry like hotel, car rental and national park managers, to discuss ways of going past the half a million international visitors recorded last year.
The travel expo marketer, Mr Ikechi Uko, has told The Daily Observer that "out of the five international events that have global recognition in West Africa, the International Homecoming Root Festival (Gambia) is one of the best so far".
The other four events being: the Visual Art Dakar-Senegal, Panafest for culture Accra- Ghana, Fespaco for movie in Ouagadougou-Burkina Faso, and the Akwaaba Travel Market Expo for tourism in Lagos-Nigeria.
Mr Uko is in favour of promoting travel to the Western region as a whole, supporting projects like the Ecowas passport which gives travellers the opportunity to move freely within West Africa.
