Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
NIGERIAN travel business consultant, travel promoter, tourism development expert, Mr. Ikechi Uko has been appointed a member of the Board of Trustees, Federation of Tourism Associations in Nigeria (FTAN) by industry players in Nigeria.
The Abia State born media consultant, journalist and author has bestridden the sub-sector like a colossus bettering every aspect he has touched with his wealth of experience and humble demeanor.
Mr. Uko, who is CEO of Jedidah Promotions and project director of Seven Wonders of Nigeria (Naija7Wonders), as well as publisher of Africa Travel Quarterly Magazine and atqnews.com is also the organizer of Akwaaba African Travel Market, the first international travel fair in West Africa; Abuja Bantaba; and organizer, Accra Weizo and Port Harcourt Bantaba.
Before this appointment, Mr. Uko has been recipient of various other appointments and awards like: in 2008, he was appointed a member of the tourism committee Nigeria Vision 2020 in the administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
In July 2014, at the 10th anniversary of Kwita Izina, the annual gorilla naming ceremony in Rwanda, one of the most prestigious festivals in Rwanda, Uko was chosen by the government of Rwanda as a representative of Nigeria to be a namer.
In 2015, he was appointed consultant to the Calabar Carnival 2016 by the Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, with the vision to reposition Calabar Carnival as the number one carnival event in Africa. As the international tourism consultant for the 2016 Calabar International Festival, Ikechi Uko brought in over ten countries across the continents of the world to participate in the Calabar International Festival.
In January 2016, The African Sun Times, Africa’s number one and largest newspaper in America, awarded Mr. Ikechi Uko, as its Tourism Ambassador of the Year 2015. According to the organizers of the Award, the award came on the heels of Ikechi’s ardent practical tourism promotion and development campaign in Nigeria and Africa through different pet projects showcasing the beauty and richness of Africa to the world.
At the 2017 MICE East Africa Forum and Expo held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ikechi Uko was presented with the 2016 MICE East Africa’s Tourism and Hospitality Personality Award. The Award was presented to him on his contributions towards the developments of tourism, travel and hospitality businesses and investments in Africa.
The hat-wearing, neck scarf donning travel icon is presently pushing his proposal to build an aviation museum for Nigeria using abandoned aircraft as exhibits. He said that the project would promote Nigeria’s tourism; empower and educate a new generation of aviators; draw international investors in the aviation industry to Nigeria and would serve as an ‘eye- opener’ to look and work for a brighter future in the aviation industry.
