By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor

At the end of every year, during the Christmas holidays, Nigerians spend huge sums of money holidaying abroad in Europe, America, Dubai, and other parts of the world. Iyadunni Gbadebo, Director, Sales and Marketing, Eko Hotels & Suites says “We need to take a step back and look inwards. We can no longer afford to spend our dwindling resources to grow the wealth of Western economies without promoting our own people and national brand assets – businesses, products, sports, culture, music and cities in Nigeria – to the world.”

Iyadunni Gbadebo put forward this proposal recently at a Press Conference held at Eko Hotels & Suites where Wakanow, one of Africa’s leading travel tech companies, announced its partnership with Eko Hotels & Suites for the 2022 Prideland edition of the Tropical Christmas Wonderland which takes place annually. Gbadebo also explained the partnership with Wakanow: “We partnered with Wakanow because of the synergy of purpose and direction that we have. The Tropical Christmas Wonderland – Prideland Edition – will effectively position as the event that brings everyone together in Nigeria from all over the world.”

With the partnership, Wakanow, the travel agency with spread across Africa and the United Arab Emirates, has become the official ticketing partner for this year’s edition of Tropical Christmas Wonderland, and has promised to transform the booking experience for clients and the organizers of the event.

The assurance was given by Adebayo Adedeji, Wakanow’s Chief Executive Officer: “We are excited to partner with Eko Hotels and Suites on this year’s edition of the event. We are bringing our expertise in travel and our ability to support Nigerian inbound tourism from all over the World.”

“Our partnership with Eko Hotels and Suites would help us engage with one of the most passionate client bases in leisure, travel, holiday, and entertainment. To us, this isn’t just a ticketing deal, it’s a true partnership. Together, we will create only the best experiences for the Tropical Christmas Wonderland fans of today and tomorrow,” Adedeji said.

Also speaking at the press conference that announced the collaboration, Wakanow’s Chief Commercial Officer, Adenike Macaulay said, “this partnership for us expresses our desire to ensure that we are at the forefront of activities or events that help us promote the beauty and rich heritage of Africa. The Prideland Edition perfectly fuses the beauty of African culture while also preaching the gospel of leisure and relaxation.”

The General Manager, Eko Hotels and Suites, Danny Kioupouroglou, also said, “We are glad to bring Wakanow on board to be a part of the Tropical Christmas Wonderland, our new partner did a tremendous job integrating into their ticket sales ecosystem and providing our guests with a frictionless process to purchase packages and passes best-suited for the Prideland Edition.”

Kioupouroglou said this year’s edition which has the theme, ‘The Prideland Tropical Christmas’, and is being packaged with the support of Wakanow Travels as the official ticketing partner, will feature live concerts at Eko Atlantic Theme Park, musical theatricals and sumptuous cuisines laced with exotic wines and beverages. “Preparation for this year’s event began in earnest and we would like to commend the show of resourcefulness and support from our partners. The connection and insight that we are making with ‘The Prideland Tropical Christmas’ project has made us proud. The timing is also perfect because Africa needs to tell its story in a history-making manner,” he said.

Full text of the press release

Eko Hotels & The Prideland edition of Tropical Christmas Wonderland, 2022, in a strategic partnership with Wakanow, put the spotlight on Africa’s tourism potential with exciting family holiday packages this Christmas.

As part of the efforts to launch the 2022 edition, Eko Hotels and Suites announces WAKANOW as the official ticketing partner for this year’s edition. Sales for the 9-day Christmas Family Holiday Extravaganza begins.

Known for its best-in-class hospitality, with four hotels and over eight hundred (800) rooms, Eko Holels & Suites created the Tropical Christmas Wonderland platform in 2019 as a choice holiday destination for guests and families to create memorable classic Christmas experiences through live shows, a soothing ambiance, exceptional cuisines and comfort away from home.

This platform exists, not just to create fun-family experiences, but also to redefine African Tourism and Hospitality, turning attention from the more obvious but quickly depleting oil/gas resources, towards untapped opportunities for the African economy.

Eko Hotels and Wakanow in collaboration, launch the sale of packages and lineup of activities in what they have promised will be an authentically African Christmas experience.

In 2019, the pilot theme was Tropical Wonderland where elements natural to the tropics were used to redefine the Christmas experience for the hotel’s guests. In 2020, bright colors were used to infuse joy into the lives of guests and families after a dark year of COVID-19 in the convivial Christmas Edition. In 2021, the Hotel decided to celebrate Christmas with a theme that played up its passion for reusing and repurposing waste at the Candyland Christmas Edition.

Flagging off this year’s event at a press conference, Mr. Danny Kioporoglou, the General Manager of the hotel, stated that “In the past four years we have been executing Tropical Christmas Wonderland, we never started planning this early in advance. Preparations for this year began after Easter and the show of resourcefulness, willingness from partners, and the connection that we are making with this story, has made us proud of how far we have come.

The timing is also perfect because Africa needs to tell her story in a history-making manner.”

The Director for Sales and Marketing Mrs. lyadunni Gbadebo said “In the face of the current global economic challenges, as Africans and Nigerians, we need to take a step back and look inwards. We cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results. We can no longer afford to spend our already dwindling resources to grow the wealth of Western economies without empowering our own. We can no longer make excuses for why a continent so rich, is desperately so poor.

Without underestimating the many challenges we face as a nation, including, but not limited to insecurity, infrastructural deficiencies, and ineffective governance, our youthful population, rich culture & heritage, and art & music are enough to grow and turn around our fortunes, especially in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

We started this mission to put Africa back on the world map by trademarking The Tropical Christmas Wonderland platform. Four years on, I am more confident that we can proudly hold our status as the Giant of Africa, giving families thoroughly enjoyable holiday experiences comparable globally, at an affordable price.

Wakanow has a massive spread across Africa and the United Arab Emirates, with this she aims to transform the booking experience for clients and the organizers of the event. Speaking on the partnership at the press conference, Mr. Adebayo Adedeji, Wakanow’s Chief Executive Officer, “We are excited to partner with Eko Hotels and Suites on this year’s edition of the event. We are bringing our expertise in travel and our ability to support Nigerian inbound tourism from all over the World.

“Our partnership with Eko Hotels and Suites would help us engage with one of the most passionate client bases in leisure, travel, holiday, and entertainment. To us, this isn’t just a ticketing deal, it’s a true partnership. Together, we will create only the best experiences for the Tropical Christmas Wonderland fans of today and tomorrow,” he added.

Wakanow’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mrs. Adenike Macaulay said, “this partnership for us expresses our desire to ensure that we are at the forefront of activities or events that help us promote the beauty and rich heritage of Africa. The Prideland Edition perfectly fuses the beauty of African culture while also preaching the gospel of leisure and relaxation.”

Families and guests who are unable to buy into the packages are not left out. They can purchase walk-in tickets with Wakanow for the long lineup of activities and events, such as an African marketplace (The African Junction), A Wet and Dry Theme Park sitting on 15,000sqm of land on the Eko Atlantic City, Outdoor fine dining experiences, Daily Musical Theatre performances, Santa’s Procession & Coronation ceremony, and so much more.

All purchases of the packages and day passes can be made through Wakanow, our official ticketing partner, or the sales office at the Hotel.