The present economic crisis and the naira’s ongoing depreciation—which has seen fluctuations in value over the last two weeks between N1,500 and N1,550 per dollar—have prevented many Nigerians from taking summer vacations this year and this has been acknowledged by Travel firms.
Travel agents who spoke with the local news brand stated that more Nigerians flew abroad for summer vacation in 2023 than they did this year. However, they expressed concern that the number of Nigerians travelling abroad for vacations will continue to decline unless the economy improves.
The local news outlet was informed by Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, the founder and managing director of Travel Lab Nigeria Limited, that individuals who did not take advantage of the airfare crash in March and April of this year encountered difficulties paying for their tickets because the fares increased as the value of the naira continued to decline.
Air Peace began operating the Lagos-London route during that time, and the International Air Travel Association (IATA) verified that the Federal Government had covered the majority of foreign airlines’ stock funds.
While there was a significant decrease in the cost of foreign travel, the cost has since increased.
Those who missed that window, according to Mrs. Asuquo, are finding it impossible to buy tickets at the present price, and some are even pleading with travel companies to let them “pay small, small.”
She had this to say: “Those who did not make their plan to travel earlier in the year when there was a drastic drop in fares when Air Peace started flight service to London, are finding it difficult to buy tickets now because the fares have gone up. Some are even asking us to allow them to pay small, small. I have a group of women who are travelling to Kigali, Rwanda. The bill was about N900,000 per person but when I wanted to book the flights, I found out that the fares had gone up. This is a major disincentive to Summer travel.
“I did a package for a family at the cost of N14.6 million to Canada but when I wanted to do the booking, the fare went up again and they told me, please do something. This is the situation now. Many people are not travelling,” she added.
The Managing Director of Travel Lab Limited also revealed that to save costs, travel brokers attempt to reach their destinations by alternate routes, but this presents the risk of visa issues.
Travellers wishing to fly to Canada, for instance, may choose to bypass Spain or Morocco to save money on their airfare. However, note that certain nations even demand a visa for transit, which can be a time-consuming process.
Continuing, Asuquo said: “So, when you reroute there will be visa issues. These are the issues playing out. You may have a cheaper route, there will be visa restraint.”
Olamide Babayemi, the chief executive officer of AJALA.NG Travels told the news brand that fewer individuals are requesting summer trips due to the naira’s devaluation, which has increased airfare.
Babayemi said: “Compared to last year, the number of people who have purchased tickets to travel for the summer is actually lower. The exchange rate has increased the fare for all travel services. Some are cancelling their bookings while some have not purchased tickets. Those who bought tickets by this time last year were higher.”
When foreign travel prices dropped in March and April of this year, many anticipated that they would stay that way since some were attributing the high tickets to the trapped fund, of which Nigeria possessed the largest amount at around $800 million, according to the local news brand. The fares charged by foreign airlines are absurdly higher in Nigeria than in other countries like Ghana, Togo, and others, so after paying the airlines, many Nigerians assumed that the reduced rates would remain in place. However, as the naira continued to depreciate, the fares increased once more.