According to Countrymeters, women are estimated to be 49.9% of our population. Imagine if that total number of women were working, our nation’s GDP would benefit immensely. Women are great multi-taskers wearing many hats and stepping into new frontiers.
One would think the tourism industry would be a rigorous task for a woman because it involves a lot of time away from home. But some women have braved the challenge and delved head first to be front and centre in the Nigerian Tourism scene. Whether it is local or intercontinental travels, these women do it, making it seem effortless.
Here are the top 8 female tour operators in Nigeria:
Diamond and Pearl Travels– Wonuola Olatunde Lamidi
Wonu Co-founded Dandptravels along with her husband David Olatunde Lamide in 2010. Together they have created bespoke tour packages for individuals, couples, families, friends, groups or corporations on request. Dandptravels recently won the Akwaaba 2018 award for being among the top 100 Tour Operators in Africa and is nominated for the Eloy Hospitality Awards 2018 coming up soon.
Social Perfect– Chiamaka Ntia (Nee Obuekwe)
Chiamaka is an explorer, travel blogger, tour guide and the founder of Social Prefect Tours. Leading Ladies Africa and YNaija named her among the 100 most inspiring Nigerian Women 2018. She also won the Akwaaba 2018 award for being among the top 100 Tour Operators in Africa. And recently, she collaborated with Wonu to have the Dubai Takeover tour and was nominated for Eloy Hospitality Awards 2018, the same category she won last year.
TVP Adventures– Funmi Oyatogun
Funmi is a geographer, a writer, an explorer and a travel experience designer/CEO of TVP adventures. TVP adventures not only offer new destinations but also unique travel itineraries. Funmi and her writings, videos, pictures and maps have been featured on BBC World News, Arise News TV, The Nation Nigeria newspaper and Bella Naija online amongst others.
Naija Nomads– Ayomofe Runsewe
Mofe is the Head of the Naija Nomads Travel company that curate travel experiences and organises group and custom travel trips for the Nigerian green passport holders. Naija Nomads are also into brand collaborations and travel writing. The company started from their online journal where issues and challenges with the Nigerian Passport were addressed.
Unravelling Nigeria – Lola Daniyan
Lola is foremost a travel blogger who has opened Nigeria uniquely to the world. Her honest assessment of Nigeria on her blog led her to become a tour guide and tour operator. She has collaborated with Naija Nomad to organise a domestic trip to Kaduna and was featured as a panellist during the Social Media Week Lagos 2017 along with Chiamaka and others. Lola organises personal tours for foreigners looking to explore Nigeria.
Tourmate by Ada the Explorer– Adaeze Vanessa Nnanna
Adaeze is a lawyer by day and an explorer always. She is a tour guide and the CEO of Tourmate by Ada the Explorer. The company is focused on encouraging domestic tourism and travel community. It also helps solo travellers find a travel companion, and she hopes the company will evolve to incorporate a dating service. She was part of the Social Media Week Lagos 2018 and she was featured on Wazobia Max TV.
Allure Travels and Tours Limited – Ifeoma Aneke
Ifeoma is an explorer and lover of all things travel. Her company offers travel solutions such as booking of local and international flights and hotels, travel logistics, international student placements, organising group trips within Africa and destination packages for honeymoons, reunions and retreats. She won the Star Prize during an annual road show organised by the Dubai Government for Tourism held in Abuja in March.
Special Tours and Travels – Rotiba Funmi
Funmi is not only the CEO of Special Tours and Travels but also of the Imperial House of Culture. She has represented Nigeria in several conferences and seminars within and outside Africa, handled several State Trips, Leadership Training and Youth seminars, excursions and sports events like the World Cup, etc. She was honoured among the top 100 Tourism Personalities in West Africa in Ghana 2017 and was recently listed among the Best 100 Tour Operators by Africa Travel Market.
Ann Esievoadje is a freelance writer who is passionate about encouraging a reading culture and personal development. She has authored two books, The Quilt (fiction) and Being Mummy and Me (non-fiction). She manages Pulchra Publishing which offers a content creation/editing, transcription, different forms of writing (including Ghostwriting) service and her blog, Life Love and Anything Goes at annesievoadje.blogspot.com.ng. You can reach her at annesievoadje@gmail.com
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