Travel/Tourism
Jumia Travel Honours Top Players in Travel Industry
By Dipo Olowookere
Last Thursday, major players in the travel industry in Nigeria were recognised at a ceremony put together by Africa’s leading online travel agency, Jumia Travel.
The event was the second edition of the Nigeria Travel Awards, which was marked with pomp and pageantry.
The awards aimed at celebrating hoteliers, airlines and travel websites for their contributions to the success of the travel, hospitality and tourism industries in 2017, as well as to encourage provision of improved quality services to Nigerians.
Managing Director of Jumia Travel Nigeria, Omolara Adagunodo, in her welcome address, explained that, “The objective of the awards event is to recognise the good work that different players within the travel & tourism industry are putting in to ensure customers are satisfied.
“As you know, our mission is to democratize travel in Africa because we believe travel makes better people and stronger business.
“To achieve this, we want to make travelling safer, easier, and more enjoyable for everyone at every budget.”
Similarly, Director-General of the Nigeria Tourism Development Commission (NTDC), Mr Folarin Coker, called on Nigerians to promote domestic tourism by looking inwards and growing the nation’s tourism policy to enable the sector realize its full potentials.
He stressed in his keynote address that, “To make tourism attractive, certain steps must be taken.”
He listed these steps as reviewing laws that don’t go along with recent trends in the industry; training personnel to understand how the industry works; putting infrastructure of tourism in place by investing in tourism assets; producing tourism events to international standard and doing away with bureaucratic bottlenecks that hinder access to finance meant for promoting tourism in the country.
The 2017 African Travel Awards winners Citiheight Hotel emerging Jumia Travel Booking Award 2017, Epe Resorts as Travellers’ Choice Award 2017, Golden Tulip Festac as Best Leisure Hotel in Lagos 2017, and Eko Hotel & Suites as Best Business Hotel in Lagos 2017.
Others were Air Peace as Favourite Local Airline 2017, Emirates as Favourite International Airline 2017, and Irin Ajo as Best Travel Blog/Website in Lagos 2017.
The inaugural awards held in 2016 ascertained Jumia Travel’s commitment to keep bettering the travel experience in Africa, positioning the awards ceremony as a key event in the travel and tourism sector in each country.
This year, they were simultaneously held in 8 other African cities including Nairobi, Algiers, Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, Douala, Dar Es Salaam, and Kampala.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 14.12 per cent stake in Ikeja Hotel Plc has been acquired by Honeywell Group Limited, a notice on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has revealed.
Honeywell Group took up the part of the hospitality firm through one of its affiliates known as HGL Real Estate Limited.
Ikeja Hotel, in the disclosure filed with the NGX on July 2, 2026, said the stake comprised 305,323,525 units of its equities.
“Ikeja Hotel hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public that it has received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, that it has acquired 305,323,525 units of Ikeja Hotel Plc’s shares, representing 14.12 per cent shareholding in the company,” the notice stated.
Ikeja Hotel is one of Nigeria’s leading hospitality investment and hotel management companies with premium hospitality assets.
It operates two leading hospitality organisations in Lagos, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel and Balmoral Convention Centre.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 10 hospitality establishments, including hotels and restaurants, were sealed on Wednesday by officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
The affected businesses are located in different locations in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the metropolis, Business Post learned from a statement from the agency.
It was stated that they were sealed by LASEPA for persistent violations of environmental regulations despite repeated warnings, abatement notices, and several opportunities to comply with the agency’s directives.
According to the notice, the enforcement exercise was carried out in line with the directives of the Lagos State government to ensure strict compliance with environmental laws and to safeguard public health.
The affected facilities were said to have breached various environmental regulations, including noise pollution, air pollution, unlawful discharge of untreated effluent, obstruction of official duties, among others.
LASEPA closed the premises of Granduer Meridian at Obasa Akiniyi Street, Oluwaga, Ipaja for non-compliance with the agency’s directives; Lasola (Spazio Bar), located on Ipaja Road, Fatolu Bus Stop, Ipaja, was sealed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives; Millennium Restaurant, located at Gate Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo, was shut down for non-compliance with directives; O2 Exquisite Suites & Tower on Jimoh Akinremi Street, Jimoh Bus Stop, Akowonjo, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; and Chirozz Hotel & Suites, located on Samuel Street, Akowonjo, by Vulcanizer Bus Stop, Egbeda, was closed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives.
In addition, House 7 Hotel, located at Remi Akande Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with LASEPA’s directives; House 48 on Isiba Oluwo Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; Exclusive Hotel, located at Ishan Kimishe, Akesan Bus Stop, was shut down by non-compliance with directives; Sabola Ventures Limited, Iocated at Km 11, LASU–Isheri Road, Igando, was shut down for operating without evidence of an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), and discharging untreated effluent into public drains; and City Int’l Motel, located at Chief Olu-Adegbite Street, off Oladun Street, Council Bus Stop, Idimu, was sealed for non-compliance with directives.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Emirates has become the first airline cargo carrier to deploy the Boeing 777-300ERSF passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft.
The aircraft (A6-EBK) will enter commercial service with a flight from Hong Kong to Dubai carrying over 100 tonnes of cargo, a statement from the airline operator stated.
The converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF offers 100 tonnes of payload capacity and 811 m³ of cargo volume, representing a 25 per cent increase in cargo volume over the Boeing 777-F production freighter.
At 47 pallet positions, the converted aircraft also accommodates 10 additional pallet positions when compared with the Boeing 777-F production freighter, making it ideal for transporting volumetric cargo such as e-commerce goods, which currently constitute around 20 per cent of global air cargo tonnage with further growth projected in the next few years.
The converted Boeing 777-300ERSF is the sixth new freighter, following five Boeing 777-F production freighters, to join Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet since March 2026.
As part of its ambitious expansion strategy, Emirates SkyCargo will also be taking delivery of five additional Boeing 777-F aircraft as well as one additional converted Boeing 777-300ERSF by December 2026.
Emirates SkyCargo will also be introducing three additional converted Boeing 777-ERSFs into its fleet in 2027.
“The induction of the first converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF into operational service represents the next step in the expansion of our fleet and operational agility.
“We are optimising our fleet assets by converting older Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to meet the growing demand for air cargo capacity to transport goods rapidly across the world,” Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President, Badr Abbas, commented.
“Combined with our growing fleet of Boeing 777-F production freighters, we have already been able to scale our global freighter network from just over 40 destinations in February this year to 62 destinations currently and growing.
“We are providing our global customers with scalable cargo capacity and ultimate flexibility and connectivity when moving cargo to and through our hub in Dubai,” Abbas added.
