Chinedu Eze Despite seeming stringent conditions in the new visa regime introduced by some countries on Nigerian passport holders, there are indications that international travel will generate higher revenue in 2025. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), foreign travel generated about N916 billion in 2024. But the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Yinka Folami, said there are indications that airlines will generate more than the 2024 figures in 2025. Folami told THISDAY in a telephone interview in Lagos that the 2025 revenue from international travel will surpass that of last year because available figures so far by the end of April, 2025 has indicated an increase which will further record upsurge at the peak seasons in Summer and December. According to NANTA President, “Travel is resilient; it is also essential because it is at the heart of connectivity and there is an improvement from the previous year, so revenue this year will be very good and will exceed that of last year.” Looking at the international travel market, the Managing Director of Finchglow Travels, Ezekiel Ikotun, explained that although some countries like the US, UK and some Schengen nations have introduced stricter visa regime, but such would not constitute significant setback to Nigerians that would wish to travel. “Nigeria is blessed with amazing people. Very smart, intelligent regardless of the strict measures, Nigerians will still find out ways around it. The more I think the requirement, the more we will meet it. That has been the trend. So, it is not a problem. For Africa and the rest of the world” he said. The NANTA President and Ikotun also confirmed that Nigerian travellers have increased their African destinations, a new phase triggered by COVID-19, which has as well aided domestic travel in addition to high cost of foreign exchange, which prompted Nigerians to visit local tourist destinations instead of travelling overseas. On African destinations, Ikotun said, “I travelled last month to Morocco and it was amazing. It is just as if it is another European country. The way they are developing their tourist center. So, the awareness is now there for people to say, instead of saying you want to leave, if it is just for leisure. You can have the same experience in Africa. If you go to Kenya, Nairobi, Mombasa, and other states, they are replicates of every major tourist center in the world. In that country. You won’t even know. If you take a picture there. You won’t know that you are not in Kenya. You will think you are in Oklahoma (USA). Or you are in Doha (Qatar). Or you are in Dubai (United Arab Emirate). Because of the way they have been able to replicate the same experience in their domain. So, the same thing is applicable to us also even in Nigeria. The December Detty December is becoming popular. So, I think Africa is waking up to see how we can develop our space also. Speaking in the same vein, the Manager of B2B at Finchglow Travels, Abiola Bakare, also noted that Nigerians realised that there are exciting destinations in Africa and many who become disinclined to traveling to Europe, Middle East and the US now chose African destinations, which have more flexible visa rules and relatively less expensive in terms of fares. Bakare said, “One of the realities after COVID-19 was that we now started appreciating what we have. Immediately, the countries started opening their borders. How did this happen? African countries were the first to open their borders. Our brothers before believed in travelling to Europe and US. You know, most of us, we understand that trend. I can mention cities in the UK than most African countries. Most of us understand America more than Ghana. So, when African countries started opening their doors, we now started looking at African destinations. “After the COVID-19, African countries were the ones that opened first and Nigerians travelled to Africa and said, okay, let’s even enjoy Africa. We started traveling within Africa. So, what it has done is that it has rekindled our interest in traveling within Africa. And actually, into the future, for us to sustain passenger traffic, we need to travel. We even need to understand our locality before we understand another man’s locality.” However, on the down side, Okotun and Bakare observed constricting factors that impede international travel in Nigeria. Ikotun stated that there are many factors that are working against international travel in Nigeria, noting that some foreign airlines negate Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) they signed with Nigeria. This is followed by the high exchange rate, high airfares and the closure of lower-class tickets by airlines. He also noted that some foreign airlines. about five of them, sell tickets only in dollars in order to forestall the trapped funds experience that made it difficult for foreign airlines to repatriate their revenues.