The tourism, travel and aviation industry in the Southeast geopolitical zone has received a major boost as Jands Travel Network, Enugu, launches a Travel Business School in Enugu State, the capital of the region. This came after the firm’s successful outing at a press conference, where its managing director, Mrs Chioma Obi who has operated in the industry for over a decade, addressed men of the press.

Jands Travel Business School, according to Mrs. Obi, was established in Enugu to create awareness and instil knowledge of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the Southeast geo-political zone with a view to boosting the economy of the region.

Mrs Obi, who also doubles as the Director of Jands Travel Business School, said: “We have been in the industry for over a decade. We chose to locate the school in Enugu because, asides the fact that I’m from southeast Nigeria, the organization is eager to contribute to the development and growth of our economy and I also felt the need for our people to tap into the opportunities in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Secondly, I think that the Western part of Nigeria is saturated with schools like this. There are quite a number of Aviation schools, but I know and I tell people that the travel business has a lot more than aviation alone, which belongs to the transportation aspect of the travel business.”

“The people in the south eastern part of Nigeria are the travelers. They are the importers, the exporters, the business men and women as well as the explorers. They travel to explore business opportunities, they come home during festivities and celebrations, they bring in goods from all over the world to sell in Nigeria and take our local goods to so many locations outside Nigeria. They contribute greatly to flight ticket sales. These are opportunities for people in the travel business to offer their services if they know how to do so, that is why we chose to locate Jands Travel Business School in Southeast Nigeria”.

She continued: “We don’t have tourism and hospitality classes as a foundation in secondary schools like you have the sciences. We don’t have it in many Nigerian universities the way we have other courses, but in comparison with other countries, you find out that there are countries that thrive with the tourism sector. It makes up a very good part of their Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and gives them a lot of employment opportunities. We still have a long way to go when it comes to tapping into what the industry has to offer, but first, before we go into the benefitting from the industry, our people should have the basic knowledge about what the travel, tourism and hospitality industry is about, how they can become a part of it, what they can do and how they can get themselves fully employed. That is where Jands Travel Business School comes in.“

On the programmes/courses offered in Jands Travel Business School, she noted that, “the good thing about the school is that you learn at your own pace and you don’t need to travel to Lagos, Abuja or any other region in Nigeria, because the school provides what entrepreneurs need here in the Southeast. After getting trained, we ensure that entrepreneurs are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), National Association of Nigerian Traveling Agency (NANTA) as well as other industry associations as a part of the mentorship program in order to guide their successful growth. So, it is a full blown inclusive learning platform for the Nigerian youth who wants to start a business. Some of the courses available are: the Travel Business Foundation Course, the Visa Applications and Procurement Masterclass, the Ticketing and Reservations, Customer Service Management and Retention, the Hotel Operations, the Tourism, Tour Packaging and Planning courses amongst others”.
She disclosed that the duration of various courses lasts between three days and six weeks.

On the services provided by the Jands Travel Network, Mrs. Obi listed them to include Local & International Flight Reservations, Visa Assistance, Local & Intl Hotel reservations, Tours, Training, Global Study Services.

Also speaking, the Executive Director (Marketing), Jands Travel Network, Enugu, Mr Valentine Obi said that excellence remains their core value, stressing that they don’t play with giving perfection in their services.
“Our Facilitators are the best of the cream in the aviation industry”, the Executive Director added.

Earlier in her speech, Mrs Ruth Mbgemena, Facilitator/Faculty member, Ticketing and Reservations, Jands Travel Business School, said her major task introducing the youths to the technicalities of flight reservation, ticket issuing and sales in aviation, as well as industry ethics, to ensure that they follow the legal and professional approach to avoid scams and ticket racketeering. Mrs. Mgbemena has been in the industry for about fifteen years where she started with Bellview airlines and then to Galileo, before she started her own organization and doubles as a an experienced instructor in Jands Travel Business School.
“The school is a dream. We hope to look back five years from now and see the people that have gone through this school, I know that we will be amazed for being a part of their growth and their achievements in the aviation industry.”, she noted.