26—Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013
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HE Mambilla plateau is a high grassland pla teau with an average elevation of about 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) above sea level, making it the highest plateau in Nigeria. The plateau which has an undulating landscape free of insects, also has temperate climate within a tropical region. Located in the highland region of Taraba State of Nigeria, Mambilla plateau houses Chappal Waddi mountain considered as the highest point in Nigeria and probably in West Africa with an average height of about 2,419 metres (7,936 ft) above sea level. As soon as one reaches the top of the mountain, the hot weather witnessed at the foot of the mountain disappears and you will be greeted by fresh and very chilled breeze blowing across the plateau. Mambilla people of Nigeria and Cameroon live on the Mambila Plateau (in Taraba State in Nigeria) and on the Tikar Plain in Cameroon as well as in several small villages further north towards the town of Banyo. These people regard themselves as a group with a common identity. At an altitude of some 700 m these villages live in a different ecological zone where oil palms grow and gallery forest is found. The Mambila language is a congeries of dialects and related languages.
•Mambilla Plateau
Mambilla Plateau: Nature’s gift to Nigeria Mambila plateau features unique physical and climatic conditions for human settlement and cattle breeding. The plateau which developed on basement complex rocks, measures about 96km along its curved length and
40km wide, and bounded by an escarpment which is about 900m high in some places. The Mambilla Plateau forms the watershed from which the major drainage systems in Taraba State take their source. Rivers Benue, Donga and Taraba (from which the state
derives its name) are the dominant drainage systems which flow across the Muri plains to drain the entire state Mambila plateau offers attractive settings, well worth a visit. It has cattle ranches, tea plantations and rolling, grassy hills. It is home to some rare
Chinese tourists spend more than German travellers T
HE second annual Chi nese International Travel Monitor released by Hotels.com reveals insights into the changing behaviours of Chinese travellers and how the global hotel industry is adapting. China has overtaken Germany and the USA as the world’s biggest spenders on travel with Chinese travellers spending $102 billion on international travel in 2012, an increase of over 40 per cent on 2011. Surveying more than 3,000 Chinese international travellers and more than 1,500 hoteliers around the world, theHotels.com report found 75 per cent of hoteliers globally say Chinese travellers now account for up to 5 per cent of their business and 45 per cent say they have experienced an increase in Chinese guests over last year, with the greatest increases coming in APAC (61 per cent). Hoteliers see China as a positive growth market over the next three years with one in 10 expecting to see an increase of more than 50 per cent and almost half (47 per cent) anticipating an 11-50 per cent rise. C M Y K
According to the Hotels.com report the majority of overseas Chinese travel (96 per cent) has been for leisure purposes, while just over half (52 per cent) have also visited other countries for
business or education. In a growing trend, nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of Chinese travellers say they prefer to travel independently and not as part of a group. This development has been
confirmed by the hoteliers surveyed, who say 70 per cent of Chinese guests now travel independently, compared with a much more even split in 2012.
species of birds and animals, especially at the GashakaGumti National Park.
When to visit
Mambila plateau has some of the coolest climatic condition in Nigeria with daytime temperatures sometimes reaching around 40C. The driest months are from December to January with relative humidity dropping to about 15 percent while the wet season usually starts from August till September. Mambila plateau has mean annual rainfall that varies between 1058mm in the north around Jalingo and Zing, to over 1300mm in the South around Serti and Takum. Because of the remote location of the plateau and lack of properly tarred roads which are still under construction, utility vehicles are recommended and visitors should make sure that essentials camping equipment and food are included in their journey.
2013: International tourism demand exceeds expectations
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NTERNATIONAL tourist arrivals grew by 5% during the first half of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012,
reaching almost 500 million, according to data just released by UNWTO. Growth was above the projec-
From Left: Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, Director–General (NTDC), receiving some of the bank’s published books from Mr. Ifie Sekibo, Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank during the pledge for partnership between both organisations, in Lagos.
tion made at the beginning of the year (+3% to +4%) and is also exceeding the trend of the UNWTO long-term outlook Tourism Towards 2030 (+3.8% a year). Destinations around the world welcomed an estimated 494 million overnight visitors in the first six months of 2013, according to the Advance Edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer released on the occasion of the UNWTO 20th General Assembly. This represents an increase of 5% or an additional 25 million international tourists compared to the same period of 2012. Growth was stronger in emerging economy destinations (+6%) than in advanced economies (+4%), a trend which has marked the sector for many years now.
“The fact that international tourism grew above expectations confirms that travelling is now part of consumer patterns for an increasing number of people in both emerging and advanced economies” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “This underlines the need to rightly place tourism as one of the key pillars of socioeconomic development, being a leading contributor to economic growth, exports and jobs.” In a still uneven global economic environment, results were positive in all regions and subregions, though the overall picture was mixed. Europe (+5%) performed surprisingly stronger than expected, driven by Central and Eastern Europe (+10%) and Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+6%).