The United Arab Emirates, UAE has confirmed that Emirates Airline, one of the world’s leading Airline will participate in the Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo (AFTCREE) scheduled to hold in Abuja from the 24th to 25th of November 2025.
The Expo is being organised by Afrocultour in partnership with Federal Ministry of Arts Culture Tourism and Creative Economy will expose the tourism potentials of not just Nigeria but the African continent.
A stastement by Barr, Chuks Akamadu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Afrocultour said the endorsement by United Emirate airlines, coming on the heels of the recent endorsement of the Expo by the Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, underscores the UAE’s commitment to strengthening ties with Nigeria and the African continent, particularly in the areas of tourism, trade, and creative enterprise.
According to him, as one of the world’s leading carriers, Emirates’ involvement in the Expo reflects its dedication to promoting connectivity, innovation, and economic growth.
He said “it is hoped that the Expo would present a unique opportunity for UAE’s reaffirmation of her continued partnership with Nigeria and indeed the entire African continent in advancing initiatives that drive sustainable development and mutual prosperity”.
The upcoming Expo aims, among other things, to urge African countries to commit to significant increase in their tourism and creative economy annual budgetary allocations and inaugurate “Agenda 2030”, which would aspire to jerk up Africa’s contribution to global trade from less than three percent (3%) to at least ten percent (10 %) and increase the continent’s five percent (5%) share of the $11 trillion global tourism revenue to at least twenty percent (20%) by the year 2030.
The orgainizers say they believe that this can be achieved through mainstreaming tourism, the cultural industry and entertainment into the service sector and instituting a peer review mechanism for African countries to compare notes bilaterally and multilaterally on emerging tourism and creative industry trends within the precincts of mutual profit.
