As Eko Hotels & Suites look forward to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, the Director of Sales & Marketing, Eko Hotels & Suites, Dr. Iyadunni Gbadebo has stated that the hospitality giant is committed to not only making Nigeria a destination but also to put the country’s hospitality on the global map.
This is just as she revealed that there are not enough hotels in Nigeria to cater for Nigerians who have decided to spend their holidays in Nigeria instead of enjoying it abroad.
She stated these in an interview with journalists at the just concluded Annual General Meeting(AGM) of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies(NANTA) in Lagos.
To achieve this, the Director, Sales & and Marketing said that the hotel invested about N2 million last year on events to make Nigeria visible in the world and that Eko Hotels is equally making its money from the business.
“We are vested in ensuring that Nigeria is the destination. We are now doing theatre, Eko Hotels are doing Circuses, Eko Hotels are doing concerts. Last year we spent N1.8 billion in curating events to bring the world to Nigeria. So, we are not playing.
“We are investing, we are making the money. We don’t have enough hotels in Nigeria. I speak to you today; my 850 rooms are sold out. The market is growing, the demand is increasing.,” Gbadebo affirmed.
Speaking on brand chain hotels moving into the Nigeria hospitality space to do business, Gbadebo said, “We love the brand chain hotels that are coming to Nigeria. We love it because with them you find out that competition becomes healthy. We don’t want to exist alone. We want them to cone so that in the midst of them we will thrive and the world will hear the story that am indigenous person is doing wonders for Africa.”
On what happened to the idea muted sometimes ago about building indigenous hospitality brand in Nigeria that would have branches in other part of the country, the Director said, that she cannot say when the idea materialise but that it would be made know when the time comes
“I cannot tell you categorically when that would be but when the time comes, we would invite you to dream with Eko Hotels & Suites.”
Gbadebo stated that Eko Hotels & Suites has invested in expanding the hotel and conferencing facility into Eko Atlantic, adding that it has to conquer the facility that the hotel existed in and perfect conquering the territory to go out.
According to her, “We are a wholly Nigerian brand, the world is not going to give excuses for us. They would slander us at every point to say that because it is a Nigerian hotel. We have to ensure we come out and expand when we are fully ready to do that. I cannot tell you categorically when that would be but when the time comes, we would invite you to dream with Eko Hotels.”
Speaking on how prepared Eko Hotels & Suites to provide top notch hospitality for Nigerians is for December in view of the fact that Detty December made waves and still being talked about, the Director noted that in thelast three months people have been talking about Detty December, and that she owes it morally to people who have invested in making Nigeria a Detty location in December positively.
“With us at Eko Hotels, we don’t stand to take all the credit because if you think about the fact that on the Convention stage, what you call music, the global export of Nigerian music today started in Eko Convention Centre. So, that is music. Move away from there, when you talk about comedy. All the brilliant Nigerian Comedians that are now international exports started on the stage of the Eko Convention Centre. Even for the people in the music industry, companies like flight time, Alhaja Adetoro who have financed to ensuring that Nigeria music has a platform on her stage up to a point that we as Nigerians can no longer afford to bring Nigeria artist to our stage because they are now global sensations,” she noted.
She urged Nigerians to always talk about the positive narratives instead id dueling on the negatives all the times
“I think when people are talking about everything that is negative about Nigeria, there is a lot to say as positives. That is what I was saying when I said being intentional about positive narratives to our story. Even Eko Hotels and Suites, I don’t know when. I think it was in the last seven years were we intentional talking about putting money into curating our own event and in the last six years,
According to him, “I can tell you for free that in two weeks we were making over N2 billion. People are spending, the middle and upper classes can no longer travel. It now becomes necessary to ensure that you are keeping that in Nigeria. Last year, my first son who now works for inter switch was saying to me I am tired of going to London and America. I told him whether you are tired or not, the fact is that we can no longer afford it. So, you better enjoy Nigeria and love to enjoy Nigeria. This is just a 24years old. We have done ourselves and children a disservice by exposing them to holidays outside Nigeria without them exploring holidays in Nigeria and Africa. I am hoping that we will wake up to the call that Nigeria is our own and that it is our responsibility to put it on the global map.
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