NANTA president, Bankole Bernard
Travel agencies in the country are set to launch a new Identification (ID) card as part of efforts to check fakery and fraud in the industry.The Nigeria Travel Practitioners Identification Card (NTPIC), to be unveiled on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Lagos, is a joint effort of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), the umbrella body for all travel agencies in Nigeria, and the Nigerian civil aviation authority (NCAA).
NANTA President, Bernard Bankole, said introduction of the new ID card is to protect the travel industry, guarantee public transaction safety and boost transparency.Bankole said the industry-based card is a unique identification tool, to capture and regulate activities of all travel practitioners in Nigeria, thereby preventing the general travel public from falling prey to fraudulent and registered travel agent activities.
According to him, “Incessant occurrences of fraudulent practices in the travel industry have crippled the travel business. This necessitated the introduction of NTPIC, to capture over 60, 000 registered travel practitioners across Nigeria.”
The event will hold at the Landmark event centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The launch is expected to bring together travel industry experts and stakeholders cutting across relevant ministries, agencies and parastatals, industry partners, and revered individuals.No fewer than 6000 travel agencies are registered with NANTA, out of which about 1000 have already applied for the NTPIC.
Vice president of NANTA, Lagos zone, Lola Adewole, said though fraud may not be completely eradicated in the industry, it can be reduced to the minimum.Adewole said that the identification has, therefore, been fortified with security features that are not easily penetrable.She said all members of NANTA who are registered, have their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other details tied to the card, making it difficult for would- be fraudsters to break the code.
She called for support from everyone for the project to succeed.She said: “IATA works closely with us now because they have seen the vision and the leadership of NANTA and they are willing to go all the way with us. It is a product that should be of interest even to you as a citizen of this country.
“We are going to proceed on a mega training of our members after the launch, because it is very critical that we train our members. When we train our members, then they bring professionalism onboard and they can work just the way other travel agencies around the world are working,” Adewole said.
Vice president of NANTA, Lagos zone, Lola Adewole, said though fraud may not be completely eradicated in the industry, it can be reduced to the minimum.Adewole said that the identification has, therefore, been fortified with security features that are not easily penetrable.She said all members of NANTA who are registered, have their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other details tied to the card, making it difficult for would- be fraudsters to break the code.
She called for support from everyone for the project to succeed.She said: “IATA works closely with us now because they have seen the vision and the leadership of NANTA and they are willing to go all the way with us. It is a product that should be of interest even to you as a citizen of this country.
“We are going to proceed on a mega training of our members after the launch, because it is very critical that we train our members. When we train our members, then they bring professionalism onboard and they can work just the way other travel agencies around the world are working,” Adewole said.
source http://guardian.ng
