Touring Abuja on the Hop on, Hop off bus

The global open top deck City Sight Seeing bus franchise, which operates tour bus services in several cities around the world, is in Abuja and aims to give tourists just as much satisfaction. A first in Nigeria and second in Africa following South Africa, the City Sightseeing bus is a double-decker bus which has an […]

The global open top deck City Sight Seeing bus franchise, which operates tour bus services in several cities around the world, is in Abuja and aims to give tourists just as much satisfaction.
A first in Nigeria and second in Africa following South Africa, the City Sightseeing bus is a double-decker bus which has an open top designed to give guests on board a panoramic view of the city centre.
With two tour buses going to about 24 selected locations to be visited on the tour and 14 routed stops, including the Silverbird Galleria, Wonderland Amusement Park, National Zoo and Park, Art and Crafts Village, National Mosque, National Christian Centre, National Assembly, International Conference Center, National Stadium, Ceddi Plaza, Ecowas Secretariat, Aso Rock, Millennium Park, Unity Fountain, Transcorp Hilton, Federal Secretariat and Eagle Square, first timers in the city and residents get a feel of Abuja.Before getting on board, tourists are screened as a trained tour guide welcomes them.
At each of the sights, tourists are able to go around them and take photos in areas where they are permitted to do so. Some buy souvenirs, enjoy local delicacies as well as attempt to learn some local traditions from traders and experts they come in contact with as is evident from interactions at the Arts and Crafts Village.  
Tourists however can’t enter ECOWAS and the National Assembly premises for security reasons.
Mrs. Oby Ndibe, who was on board with her children, said it was a new perspective of Abuja for her as she ordinarily wouldn’t visit such places on a regular day.
“This is a different type of relaxation for me and also stress-free. It’s nice to be driven around and thankfully, it is a fine weather too.I also think it is educational for my children and I, because beyond reading about these things in books, they see and experience them first hand,” the mother of three said.
Of all the destinations, the Abuja Zoo was 10-year-old Walid Umar’s site. “I like animals a lot and enjoy watching Animal Planet because of this. My parents have been promising to bring me here and this time when I celebrated my birthday, I told them we must come here,” he said excitedly as he impatiently waited to run off to see more of the zoo.  
His mother, Aisha, said she decided to make it a treat for him by bringing him on the City Sightseeing tour. She however hoped that more destinations will be added and the tour will extend to some other historic cities of the country.  
Organised to operate as obtains elsewhere, everyone on board is furnished with earpieces and brochures with which they can listen and read up information about history and events surrounding these sights. Their knowledge is further enriched by the live commentary given on these matters by a trained tour guide on board.
Although Nigerians and visitors alike seem to be gradually warming up to the concept, not all of them feel encouraged to do so.
Mr. Bala Ishaya, who was at the Silverbird Galleria last Saturday with his family of six, said he arrived there at about 9.35 am in order to catch the 10.00 am tour as advertised on the company’s notice board. At 11.00 am, the bus was yet to arrive. He was particularly frustrated by this because there was also no phone number to call to make inquiries about the tour. At the end, he left at about 11.15 am in frustration.
While Ishaya lamented his plight, another prospective tourist, Amarachi, who was there with her friend, complained about the publicity of the company’s tour operations.
“If one doesn’t shop here at Silverbird or come to watch movies, you are not likely to know that such a thing exists, except you saw them on the street during one of their tours,” she said.
City Sightseeing business manager, Princess Onyeanusi, said the motivation behind the concept was to bring Nigeria at par with other international cities that showcase the beauty of their localities.
She added that: “Therefore, tourists, visitors and residents of Abuja are availed the opportunity to enjoy the splendour of the city.”
The chosen destinations, which do not include any of the historic sites in the area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Onyeanusi said: “Are clearly identified places of significance in Abuja city with certain history and interest surrounding them.”
She also said: “Some of the destinations are places where immense fun activities are carried out, thus guaranteeing satisfaction of customers on board.Abuja is the only operational site for the tour bus at the moment, because of the well-structured roads and plan of the city.”
Onyeannusi stated that some of their challenges with concerns from tourists on issues like Ebola and Boko Haram are gradually being erased as the company has enjoyed the backing of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC).
“The presence of security measures on the bus and provision of hand sanitizers which we currently provide is gradually allaying such fears,” she said.
Although the service is available only in Abuja at the moment, there are group tours for organisations, schools, embassies, churches and hotel guests among others, while individuals pay N2,990 for adults, N1,500 for children and free tours for children below five years, for the two hour long tour.
With the bus at every stop on the hour, Onyeanusi said the company sticks with the Hop on, Hop-off routine as exists in other cities of the world such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Washington D.C, New York and Cape Town.
“We are operating the Abuja franchise as such it is structured to international standard,” she said.
On poor publicity she said: “The publicity is being worked on as we are rolling out radio jingles shortly, as well as getting coverage from certain newspapers and blogs. We have been allocated visibility at the airport via the NTDC allocated stand and have official presence at Silverbird Galleria.”
With the bus not always being available at advertised times, she attributed the problem to: “The issues of a new start as well as the lukewarm attitude of Nigerians towards tourism in general are part of the reasons for that. All these factors are being addressed.”
Imploring government’s support she said: “We would also need continued support from necessary government agencies, the media and FCT Ministry to ensure that tourism is adequately promoted in Nigeria.”
There are plans to extend this to other cities at some point, depending on how the Abuja one goes and on special requests visitors can visit area councils in the FCT, Onyeanusi said.