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NOTAP, Medallion Call for Adoption of Latest Technology Trend to Boost Tourism Business

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L-R: Nisham, Chabra, GM, Netcore Solutions Nigeria, Clara Okoro, Brandworld Media, Muky Emelda, CEO, Instyle Ventures, Chukwudi Nwokike, Client Success Manager, Netcore Solutions Nig at the Tourism/Technology Summit organised by Brandwordl Media in Partnership with Technology Mirror in Lagos, recently.
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The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and Medallion Communications Limited have advocated for the deployment of technology in the nation’s tourism and travel space as a panacea for boosting businesses in the tourism and travel sector.

 

In two separate keynote address delivered at the Maiden Edition of Tourism and Technology Summit held in Lagos, and organised by Brandworld Media and TechnologyMirror, online technology news and information media noted the essence of technology in the tourism and travel business.

 

Mr. Ike Nnamani, President/CEO of Medallion Communications Limited in his keynote address disclosed that technological advancement has changed the way people travel, and these new innovations offers an interactive and exciting experience that were unprecedented.

 

Nnamani who was represented by the Chief Financial Officer of Medallion Communications, Mr. Olatunji Sulaiman said that the mobile technology has brought about the significant changes in revolutionizing tourism and hospitability industry noting that mobile phone has become “our tour guide, travel agency, best restaurant locator and maps.”

 

According to him, the IoT promises to bring significant changes to the tourism industry saying, “They include integrating sensors connected to the internet items like cars, suitcases and luggage’s, building and home equipment. All these enhances the security of the travelers which makes an holiday spent with relaxed minds.”

 

He also said with the virtual assistants technology insight into what the weathers brings exciting moments on vacations and that it is now possible to “teleport” to the most remote corners of the globe without getting off the couch.

 

Sulaiman stated that Medallion core business is to provide infrastructural support to enable stakeholders in the tourism and technology industries to tap into evolving business opportunities that all technological innovations require.

 

Earlier, Dr Dan-Azumi Ibrahim,  Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) represented by Mr John Omesili, Principal Technology Officer of NOTAP, said that there were six trends to watch out for in the tourism industry.

 

He said that the six trends included: Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Voice Technology, Wi-Fi Connectivity and Wearable Devices.

 

He disclosed that Nigeria has the best brains around the world and it must use them stating the country could be the first to sell or franchise Virtual Reality software for the Digital Tourism in the world.

 

He added that the agency was working towards ensuring that all technologies in the country would run on Nigerian software.

“Today using pay stack, we can directly charge cards and allow payments to be made to local businesses”.

 

“We have an online travel websites such as Wakanow and hotels-finding service, hotels.ng.

 

“These brands use software to run their businesses; they show how ICT and Tourism can work together to bring desirable products to the market place,” Ibrahim said.

 

Quoting GlobalData 2018 Report, Technology Trends in Travel and Tourism, he said that technology is fostering a change in the travel and tourism industry regarding how companies interact with customers.

 

“Consequently, travel companies are adopting various technologies to improve operational efficiencies and meet customers’ expectations at every stage of their journey,” he said.

 

The NOTAP boss also said that Nigerians could leverage on these trends to create new realities in the tourism space and that using real time location sensors, the country could create digital experiences never imagined.

 

Jemi-Alade, Chief Executive Officer, Jemi-Alade Associates Ltd, speaking at the event said that disruption by technology was forcing travel agencies to innovate or die.

 

According to him, technology is radically transforming the way travel and tourism business is conducted around the world, saying that Africa was not an exception.

 

“The rapid growth in the travel and tourism sector across regions of Africa is largely driven by technology and numerous initiatives across the continent to attract more tourists,’’ he said.

Jemi-Alade said that tourism industry players were beginning to realise that tourism and travel space had become a technological business and were adapting to the new reality.

“African countries are discovering the need to develop and market their tourism potential, and technology is making it easier and cheaper to promote destinations and showcase various tourism endowments.

“Technology has helped reduce operational costs, cost of travel and also simplified visa procurement systems.

“Sustainability of growth in the travel sector is dependent on the sector’s ability to recognise the key drivers and respond to challenges facing it.

“The online movement is the next big wave in travel and is now shaping the way Africans travel within Africa, and how the travel business is conducted on the continent.

“It is daily transforming the entire value chain bringing with it new products, services and experiences,’’ the tour and travel chief said.

He said the online and mobile app travel booking were the new trend, adding with over 200 million smartphone users in Africa, the trend was sure to expand.

Jemi-Alade said that African continent was well endowed with various tourism assets and products that attracted tourists from around the world.

He said that there were factors against tourism growth and development on the continent, but with the advent of technology, the narrative was changing.

“Recent trends in information technology are changing the narrative by providing cheap and affordable solutions.

“With vast unexploited potential, the future of tourism in Africa is brightly enabled by technology,’’ the chief executive said.

Earlier in a welcome address, the Managing Director of Brandworld Media, Clara Okoro  said that the tourism ecosystem in Africa is evolving rapidly and it was time to connect and attract the best brains using technology as a launch pad to change the narratives.

 

She said the key interests at the tourism and technology  summit  includes ensuring fostering education, excellence, inclusion, knowledge and experience of Africa’s abundant offerings in tourism through our professional  tourism consultancy as well as strategic partnerships with government and other professional bodies to take the tourism industry in Africa  to the levels  where they should be  technology.

 

She said: “We have decided to settle for this specific niche on tourism and technology and already have a 10 year blueprint as a framework to implement.”

 


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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PAT Taps Osi as CEO

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Pan African Towers (PAT), a Nigerian infrastructure provider serving 9mobile and Spectranet, has appointed Echezona Osi as chief executive officer.

PAT Taps Osi as CEO

Echezona Osi

Adefolarin Ogunsanya, company’s, board chairman,  explained in a statement that Osi would succeed Oladipo Badru, whose tenure lasted nine months in acting CEO position. Osi has more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications sector across various regions of Africa.

Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had served as the head of network deployment at Airtel Nigeria, operations director and chief technical information officer at MIC Tanzania, chief technology officer roles at IPT PowerTech Nigeria, Rhino Niger Networks and Biswal Nigeria.

He obtained a degree in electrical/ electronic engineering from the University of Benin and a postgraduate diploma in data science and business analytics from the University of Texas.


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NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

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Companies sending bulk international text messages, also known as Application-to-Person (A2P) messages, will now have apply for a licence that costs N10 million.

NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

This is part of new rules introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aimed at cleaning up the system, fighting fraud, blocking spam messages and stopping money from leaving the country unchecked.

These A2P messages are the kind customers get from banks, online stores, hospitals and political campaigns, automated texts sent from apps to their phones.

According to the commission, the bulk international text message system has been poorly regulated, allowing misuse and invasion of privacy.

“The International SMS Service Ecosystem in Nigeria has not been fully brought under regulatory control. It has been observed that the excessive use of the Short Message Service has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities,” the NCC said.

The regulator warned that without action, the problem would worsen as more people use mobile phones and digital services.

To solve this, the NCC is creating a central platform, or gateway, through which all international bulk text messages must pass through.

The agency said this would help to monitor messages in real time, ensure proper fees are paid, and make sure the money stays in Nigeria where it can contribute to the economy.

As part of the incoming change, service providers must follow strict rules, including strong data protection, spam filters, and message encryption.

Also, they must also work with local mobile networks and make sure all messages come from a verified sender

The NCC warned that any message without a proper sender ID will be blocked and not delivered to users.

To protect users from unwanted texts, the new rules say companies must get clear permission before sending any promotional content.

The rule also says people must also be able to choose whether they want to receive such messages or not.

Companies are now required to keep records of all messages for at least six months and must clearly state all charges involved.

The NCC said fees for help requests, cancellations, or service info must be transparent and not include hidden charges.

The commission will issue licences to several providers to encourage healthy competition but may limit new licences if needed.

Only companies that show they can stop fraud and safely deliver messages will be allowed to operate. They must also regularly report their message traffic and finances to the NCC.

It warned that any company that breaks the rules risks getting fined, suspended, or having its licence revoked.

Offences like charging illegal tariffs, ignoring security rules, or avoiding taxes will be punished, the NCC said.

The commission added that the new rules follow the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and support the federal government’s goal of strengthening cybersecurity and controlling Nigeria’s digital space.

The framework will also be reviewed from time to time to keep up with new technology and market trends.


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MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre

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MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre

Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.

The shift comes as demand for cloud services in Nigeria soars — driven by the uptake of mobile apps, fintech tools and e-learning platforms — while foreign providers have become costlier in the wake of the naira’s sharp devaluation.

“This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa,” said Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.

He described the new Tier III-certified facility, with locally hosted cloud services, as “transformative for the technology ecosystem in Nigeria and very supportive of the federal government’s agenda”.

MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms provider, has so far invested $120m in the first phase, delivering an IT load of 4.5MW. A second phase, set to double capacity to 9MW, is budgeted at $135m.

“We already have data centres that are running our existing capacities,” Toriola said.

“We will go to 9MW in short order, possibly 14MW, and we can expand even further.”

He said the facility would allow local hosting for tech developers, large enterprises including banks and oil companies, and government agencies — markets long dominated by foreign cloud providers.

“Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage,” he added.

 


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