…Describes CBT’s Action As Encroachment On Nigeria’s Economy
The President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agents(NANTA), Mr. Yinka Folami has stated that the association is committed to put an end to the activities of the Cross-Border Traders(CBT) as its actions currently erodes the Nigerian market by about 40 per cent as contained in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Billing and Settlement Plan(BSP) report.
BSP is a system that simplifies the selling , reporting and remitting procedures for IATA accredited travel agents on behalf of BSP airlines .
The CBT are travel agencies based abroad that are operating and selling international airlines tickets thereby by-passing travel agents abroad thereby denying travel agencies in Nigeria the opportunity of the resources that should come to them.
These travel agencies also give travelers cheaper fares and also circumvent the system.
He stated during an interview with a select Aviation and Tourism journalists at the association’s 49th Annual General Meeting(AGM) with the theme, “Collective Prosperity Through Market Protection”
He described the action of the Cross-Border Traders as an encroachment into the Nigeria travel market.
He hinted that already five global players in the travel business have been fingered in the CBT and that the same companies are also suspected to be the ones doing the business in Nigeria
“It is an encroachment of global fares into our market. For example, you are our agent somewhere in Asia and I am an IATA certified agent in Nigeria. It is my market. The traffic is in Nigeria because it is a Nigerian market. Let us assume you have a market Lagos -London-Lagos. That agency that sits in Asia has better fares than the agency that sits in Nigeria. Why does that happen? Does that make any sense? It conflicts in the face of every logic that is known to me. It is an encroachment into the global market. What it does is that it comes into our market and it has shifted our markets for about 40 per cent. Our market has been eroded by 40 per cent on the BSP report by IATA. Should we accept that? No,” Folami said.
On whether NANTA is at war with the CBT, he said, “while we are not against global merchants because the world is a global village today but we are against them for deliberately and disrespectfully encroaching on our market with their fares. Why should they have those fares and we don’t have them? And the traveler is a Nigerian.”
The second effect of the activities of the CBT, he said
“is that it circumvents our economic system. It is a capital flight and we don’t need to go there. We are going to do a position paper to the Federal Government if it continues. It impinges on our own direct trade because when we start losing 40 per cent what happens? We start thinking about laying off workers.
“It also devalues that same Nigerian customer that appears to have bought a cheaper ticket in the sense that those tickets are usually restricted tickets. We have had cases where customers have lost N30 million and where our agents have been called to question it. It was lost all over.
Even the local airlines that operate in Nigeria, our brothers and sisters work for them. If you are their supervisor abroad and you see that 40 or 50 per cent of the load for our market is not by her or by him, what will you start thinking of doing? They will eventually be sacked in their jobs. So, it does not make sense in any way. It does not help any player in the industry including IATA that reports our figures.
He noted that Nigeria is the only market that has not grown in the last six months
Speaking on the companies involved in the CBT in the West Africa sub region, the NANTA President, though refusing to disclose their identities said, “Five global players were fingered in West Africa and they are going through investigation for prosecution. These companies also operate in Nigeria and are some of our prime suspects. Even though we cannot say this is you, we understand what is happening because we understand the market.”
The next action NANTA will take against these companies, he said, “We have already explained it enough to the Federal Government and the government understands what is happening. This is a strong compliance to me because I am a student of communication. The strong compliance is communication. We are definitely going to address it and not addressing it is to give up and to lose our market.”
On how come these travel agencies involved in CBT are offering cheaper fares to travelers and the travel agencies in Nigeria at not getting cheaper fares, the NANTA boss said that is the question Nigerians need to ask, insisting that it defies all professional logic to him
Speaking on whether he suspected foul play from the foreign airlines, Folami said, “The foreign airlines are our principals but we all understand what is happening.”
He, however promised that NANTA will not allow it to happen in Nigeria
According to him, “In Nigeria we would not allow it. There are gaps and they will be corrected.”
On the stagnation of passenger traffic in both local and international compared to other countries, the NANTA boss said, “If there is, what is the first suspect? The first suspect is probably the cost and the economy. We cannot isolate Nigeria travel from the Nigeria economy because travel is part and parcel of the Nigerian economy. I think that if you see that decline is a marginal decline, I think travelers will readjust.”
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