Visa Rewards #Notatourist Campaign Winners

In a bid to drive international tourism and to reward holidaying card users global payments and technology company Visa, has rewarded four winners from its innovative regional campaign #Notatourist in Nigeria.

Mr. Douglas Ndekwu, a First Bank customer, Mr. Ejikeme Douglas Onuh, of Diamond Bank user, Mr. Mel Osuji Daimeon, a Standard Chartered Bank account holder and Mr. Gilbert Inemesit from First Bank; all emerged as winners from the competition.

The #Notatourist campaign prize includes a travel package worth USD 15,000 for the winners and their partner of choice to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE); business class flight, 5 days and 4 night’s trip to Dubai #Notatourist adventures, and a Visa prepaid card worth $1,000 ran from July 1st to September 19th, 2015.

The #Notatourist campaign was designed to inspire travel beyond the regular tourist sites to savour truly local experiences that are the essence of making a destination unique.

As travellers experience unforgettable moments, Visa remains the gateway to an array of offers that give cardholders the ability to maximize their joy and access to thousands of attractions that unlock the secrets of their preferred destinations.

Speaking at the event, Mr Ade Ashaye, country manager, Visa West Africa, said, “As a global payments technology company, we believe in the power of mobile applications to tap in to the large population of smart phone users.

"The most important highlight of this campaign is that we have been able to communicate with the hearts and minds of travellers and help them appreciate the hidden treasures of the places they visitby connecting people and their experiences through unleashing the imagination of the traveller to interact with the beauty of the destination.”

The #Notatourist campaign ties in with Visa’s efforts to promote tourism in Africa, through partnerships with government authorities, financial institutions and merchants.

In addition, Visa also invests in enhancing travel experiences through safe and convenient payment solutions, and a wide selection of benefits and privileges for travellers. 

The campaign was held to help travellers explore destinations as local inhabitants – not as tourists - by providing local knowledge using crowd sourced digital content that is showcased on Visa’s Notatourist website and the Visa Explore mobile app.

Downloading the Visa Explore Application from Apple Store or Google Play ensured that travellers were informed of the most updated Visa offers and opportunities, ATM locations, and valuable information for cardholders.

The application, through a variety of sections, served as a companion for all Visa cardholders who enjoy security, convenience, and acceptance at tens of millions of merchants worldwide.

#Notatourist offered travellers a platform to describe the many facets of their destination by sharing their own images, videos, posts and comments, making them ambassadors or tour guides of their favourite travel spots.

Tourists were encouraged to participate in the competition by posting pictures of themselves on twitter using the hash tag #Notatourist, naming the exact location where the picture was taken and tagging @VisaNigeria while sharing how Visa helped to achieve a goal at the location, to stand a chance of winning weekly prizes such as tablets, cameras, $1000 weekly and a grand prize of a $15,000 trip to Dubai for four nights.

Visa also set up a Hidden Treasure Quiz competition to reward customers who could not travel. Pictures of interesting locations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK) were uploaded on social media and followers were asked to name the exact location.

The pictures were uploaded on Visa Nigeria’s social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook by 1:30pm on Tuesdays and Fridays respectively and one winner emerged every week from the Hidden Treasure competition winning a Digital Camera. ‎