Otunba Olawanle Akinboboye has released his 22nd Tourism Product of the Week; The World’s Longest Pool with a Palm Wine Bar. The tourism icon noted that the product is the perfect example of taking ‘advantage of your advantages’ as it leverages off a popular man - made water feature, then ensures it is ‘unusual’ due to its size and the inclusion of distinctive African feature - a palm wine bar.
He explained that, to attract tourists, you must create unique attractions that leverage off those things that are peculiar to your environment. Such attractions must not only be seen as novel by tourists, but must also be challenging to replicate in any other part of the world. This will ensure that the tourist realises it is only by visiting your destination that he/she can fully experience the attraction.
Obviously, nature provides many geographical features that have evolved into popular tourist attractions. This includes the Grand Canyon in the USA, the Niagara Falls in Canada and Mount Kilamanjiro in Tanzania. These features cannot be replicated, which is why, even if it was possible to recreate the Grand Canyon in Dubai, it would have little or no impact on tourists’ desire to see the authentic natural feature in the USA.
The same applies in those situations where culture is the focal point of a tourist attraction. The Maoris of New Zealand have created a sizeable tourism industry that leverages off their cultural identity and beliefs.
Thousands of tourists pay sizeable sums to visit New Zealand and witness an authentic Haka, where tribal Maoris give visitors a taste of the war dances that symbolize their pride in their tribal identity. The same applies in Bali where it’s traditional culture provides a platform for its thriving tourist industry.
Otunba Akinboboye believes there must be a concerted effort to ensure that our food and drink can live side by side and compete with Western products. He said he was particularly excited to find a popular supermarket chain in the UK offered a range of frozen African foods.
Otunba Akinboboye mentioned that, by creating the world’s longest (swimming) pool he took advantage of the vast land space in Africa, as under normal circumstances it would be challenging for a Resort to earmark the land space required for the longest pool to a single feature in a Resort. He then mentioned that, by attaching and incorporating a palm wine bar to this pool, he was leveraging off a drink that was indigenous to our people and which was not readily available outside of the continent.
In particular, even if a Resort in, for example, California wanted to replicate the longest pool it would find it challenging to install a palm wine bar due to the logistical problems in obtaining a consistent supply of freshly tapped palm wine to serve in that bar. It would also be difficult, if not impossible, to get palm wine tappers to tap the palmwine and bring it freshly tapped to a Californian Resort in Gourds, as by the time it crossed the Atlantic the fermentation process would have progressed.
It is all of these elements that make the product uniquely African and ensures that when a tourist wants an African experience his eyes will turn towards an African destination.
Otunba Akinboboye mentioned that tourists are welcomed to enjoy this product at La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort in Ikegun Lagos State which caters for tourists and fun seekers on Staycations or Daycations.
He also made it clear that he is supportive of palm wine being exported and entering the repertoire of international alcoholic drinks, as this would create employment and address the yearnings of Nigerians and other Africans in the diasporas to have a taste of home.
We hope you enjoyed hearing about this product and that you are looking forward to hearing about the remaining 30 products that will feature as Tourism Products of the Week.
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