RCCG Out With Official Travel Agency

   To cater for the travel needs of its members as well as groups within and outside the church, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), through Victory Travels and Tours recently launched her Internet Booking Engine (IBE) called 9aijatravel.com which will enable members worldwide enjoy discounted booking engine to book flights, hotels and cars from the comfort of their homes whenever they are going on vacation or on a spiritual voyage.

Unveiling the IBE in Lagos, the chief executive officer of Victory Travels and Tours, Mrs. Tolu Abiola-Lawal explained that with a mandate from RCCG, the outfit is working with some airlines to get good discount for travels booked on the platform and from the RCCG Church Management System platform, noting that with the application of technology in travel management and planning, the portal will address challenges faced by many travelers.

The CEO further explained that the portal was borne out of the need to comply with changing technology in travel from paper-based operations to electronic and booking engines, which is now in vogue, stressing that the firm has dedicated a section of the portal to meet the travel needs of over 10 million Nigerians who are members of the church for evangelical, leisure, business and other reasons. According to her, with over 117 locations of the church worldwide, there is need to consolidate all travels to reduce expenditure through a booking engine that will offer attractive options.

"The travel industry has undergone change over the years. This revolution is what has given birth to the design of a booking engine. As the official travel agency for the Redeemed Christian Church of God, we have unveiled this travel portal to cater for the needs of our over 10 million members. This is because we need a platform to assist in saving money for the church on travels. This has also become important because we do a lot of travels that border on education, missionary work, medical needs, sports and other issues," she explained.

Also speaking of the portal designed by global information travel solution provider, Sabre Travel Network West Africa, the head of RCCG's Information Technology Department, Prince Abiodun Olaobaju explained that the travel and tour firm has partner with several financial institutions to facilitate easy payment options for clients that will be networked through the portal.

He therefore called on airlines to support the endeavour to make the system work, adding "the unique selling point is that this travel portal will offer the least fare options. There is an immediate target market and other features that other portals do not have. We intend to harness discount on fares available to make the portal as user friendly as possible."