Andrew Iro Okungbowa 
The Lagos Zone of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) recently hosted a Business Workshop for travel professionals focused on empowering agencies with the tools to grow, upscale, and succeed in today’s evolving market.
The session featured a keynote presentation by Mr Bankole Bernard, Group Managing Director of Finchglow Holdings, who facilitated a practical and insightful session on “Strategic Business Development for Travel Agencies.”
Bankole, who is a former President of NANTA, in his insightful presentation, drew on his over two decades of experience in the industry, to highlight the urgent need for structure, digitisation, and long-term thinking in the travel sector.
He emphasised the urgent need for digital transformation as the backbone of growth for modern travel businesses. “Intuition has limits. Growth today is driven by data, powered by automation, and sustained by strategic partnerships,” he said.
Bankole further spotlighted how operational efficiency and technology adoption are no longer optional, but required blueprint for survival and scale up.
Through the Finchglow Holdings casestudy, with its six subsidiaries spanning business and corporate travel, tourism, education, and logistics, he demonstrated how combining structure, strategy, and smart execution delivers long-term impact. “The best growth doesn’t come from reacting fast, but from thinking ahead and leading strong,” he noted.
