Nigeria’s travel industry is facing a significant structural gap, leaving citizens vulnerable to fraud, visa denials, and financial losses, according to Elisha Olorunda, CEO of RE360 Agent Development Limited. The lack of a professional travel consulting ecosystem has weakened the country’s global competitiveness and damaged its international credibility.
The travel sector in Nigeria remains largely informal, with little regulatory oversight, allowing untrained and uncertified individuals to operate as travel agents. This has led to widespread misinformation, compromised documentation, and lost opportunities for Nigerians seeking education, medical care, business expansion, or tourism abroad. The consequences of poor advisory services extend beyond individual losses, affecting Nigeria’s global reputation.
Professional travel consulting encompasses more than just ticketing and visa assistance; it includes regulatory compliance, proper documentation advisory, ethical guidance, and client education. When Nigerians are properly guided, they succeed abroad and reflect positively on the nation, making travel consulting a national development tool.
RE360 Agent Development Limited, Olorunda’s platform, focuses on training and certifying travel agents, emphasizing ethics, international best practices, and consumer protection. The initiative aims to reduce fraud, improve visa success rates, and reposition travel consultants as educators and facilitators of global opportunities.
Olorunda highlights the need for strategic partnerships between government agencies and professional travel consulting bodies to enhance youth employment, promote mobility education, and contribute to informed policy formulation. With nearly a decade of experience advising over 1,000 Nigerians on international travel, RE360 is positioned to serve as a catalyst for professionalizing the sector and expanding global access.
To address the challenges facing the travel industry, Olorunda urges Nigerians to become informed consumers by seeking licensed and trained consultants, demanding transparency, and understanding that integrity is the foundation of sustainable international travel success. The future of Nigerian travel must be built on structure, credibility, and vision, he emphasizes. By promoting professional travel consulting and strategic engagement between government and credible consultants, Nigeria can curb fraud, improve outcomes, and strengthen its international standing.
