By Janefrances Chibuzor
When Akwaaba African Travel Market returned to ITB Berlin after more than a decade, it did not mark the reappearance of West Africa in global tourism conversations.. The he region has remained visible for years through the consistent presence of countries such as Ghana,
The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Cabo Verde in major travel trade exhibitions. What Akwaaba’s return represents instead is the re-entry of a regional travel marketplace into a global arena increasingly defined by networks, partnerships and collective destination marketing.
For much of the past decade, West African tourism boards have been quietly building their visibility abroad. Ghana has leveraged diaspora tourism campaigns and cultural diplomacy to attract international attention, particularly following initiatives that strengthened ties with African diaspora communities.
The Gambia has maintained strong engagement with European tour operators, positioning its beaches and cultural experiences as accessible winter destinations. Sierra Leone, emerging from years of rebuilding its global image, has also used international tourism fairs to reintroduce its natural landscapes and heritage sites to global buyers.
Cabo Verde, perhaps the most internationally visible tourism success story in the sub-region, has built a reputation as a stable island destination with strong air connectivity and resort development.
These examples reflect a broader reality: West Africa has not been absent from the global tourism stage, even if its presence has sometimes been fragmented and country-specific. It is within this context that Akwaaba African Travel Market’s reappearance at ITB Berlin becomes significant.
Founded in Lagos in 2005, Akwaaba has grown into West Africa’s largest travel and tourism trade exhibition. For over two decades, it has served as a regional platform connecting African destinations with international tour operators, airlines, investors and travel media.
While national tourism boards promote individual countries, Akwaaba operates differently. Its model is based on bringing multiple destinations and travel businesses into a single marketplace. This distinction matters in the modern tourism economy.
The global travel industry has increasingly moved toward regional collaboration and multi-destination experiences. Tourists today are less interested in visiting a single country in isolation; they are drawn to broader cultural routes, heritage trails and regional travel circuits that allow them to experience several destinations within one journey.
In Africa, this shift is already visible in East and Southern Africa, where regional tourism partnerships and integrated travel marketing strategies have strengthened the continent’s visibility.West Africa, despite its rich cultural heritage and historical depth, has struggled to develop similar regional tourism ecosystems.
Akwaaba’s return to the global exhibition circuit may therefore represent an attempt to reposition the region within that emerging framework.
Over the past year, the Lagos-based travel market has actively participated in several international tourism exhibitions, including Kilifair in Tanzania, Magical Kenya Travel Expo, World Travel Market London and EMITT in Istanbul.
These engagements reflect a deliberate effort to reconnect the West African travel trade with global tourism networks and to ensure that the region’s private-sector tourism players remain visible in international markets.
The decision to return to ITB Berlin — one of the world’s most influential travel trade platforms — carries both symbolic and strategic weight. ITB Berlin is not simply an exhibition; it is where global tourism narratives are negotiated.
Governments, airlines, hospitality brands and tourperators gather there to shape partnerships, identify new markets and define emerging travel trends. For a regional platform like Akwaaba, appearing at ITB signals that West Africa’s private travel sector intends to participate in those conversations rather than observe them from the margins.
Yet visibility alone is not enough.
West Africa’s tourism sector still faces structural challenges that continue to limit its competitiveness. Air connectivity between neighbouring countries remains inconsistent.
Visa regimes across the region can be restrictive. Infrastructure investment in tourism corridors is uneven, and marketing budgets for destination promotion remain relatively modest compared to competing regions.
These challenges have often prevented West Africa from presenting itself as a seamless travel region despite its enormous cultural and historical appeal.
Akwaaba’s return to ITB Berlin therefore raises a larger question about the future direction of tourism in the sub-region: whether West Africa can move beyond fragmented national promotion toward a more coordinated regional tourism strategy.
If that transition occurs, platforms such as Akwaaba could become central to shaping it. By bringing governments, private operators, airlines and investors into one marketplace, the fair offers a rare space where regional tourism cooperation can move from rhetoric to practical engagement.
For Lagos, the implications are equally significant. As the host city of the annual Akwaaba African Travel Market, Lagos occupies a strategic position within West Africa’s tourism economy. The city’s role as a commercial hub, cultural centre and aviation gateway already places it at the intersection of travel flows across the region.
Akwaaba’s growing international engagements reinforce that positioning. Ultimately, the story of Akwaaba at ITB Berlin is less about a dramatic comeback and more about an evolving tourism strategy.
West African destinations have continued to promote themselves individually on the global stagehat is gradually emerging now is the recognition that regional cooperation may be the next frontier. In that sense,
Akwaaba’s presence in Berlin reflects something deeper than participation in another tourism fair. It signals the possibility that West Africa’s tourism future may depend not only on how countries market themselves, but on how effectively the region learns to market itself together.
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