THE expedition to the holy lands is a life-time experience, which every household will want to fulfil either as a Christian or religious tourist, but how many of them can actually afford it, now that the economic crunch is biting harder by the day'And even when one is buoyant enough to participate, how long can one wait to access the annual ritual'It is on this premise that the Citti Twelve Pilgrimage and Tours, a travel and tour corporate outfit, was established to liberalise the pilgrims exercise for the conveniences of those willing to make a journey to Israel, Greece Rome among other places at any time of the year.Citti Twelve Pilgrimage and Tours with offices in Lagos and Ibadan is a corporate outfit run by crop of experienced and professional tour operators who have not only cut their teeth in tour packaging and destination management, but have also travelled wide to know the interest and hospitality needs and choice of tourists and visitors to foreign lands.Speaking with Tribune Tourism Magazine at the Citti Twelve Pilgrimage Tours office at 16, Iba Oluyole Mall, Obafemi Awolowo Road, J Allen, Dugbe, Oke-Bola, Ibadan, the Operations Manager of the tour agency, Rev Edward Kehinde Alabi said that Citti Twelve is out to support the Federal Government's effort at extending the pilgrimage exercise to other interested people in the Christian fold willing to visit Israel to see places of reference which were mentioned in the bible ditto strengthening their spiritual well-being.According to Rev Alabi, 'Citti Twelve is specifically dedicated to Christian pilgrimage to Rome, Jerusalem, Greece, and Israel among other places, which have something to do with the spiritual life of Christian pilgrims and also expose them to cross cultural norms and values.'We want Christians to be established in the word of God, not only by the word of mouth alone, but also taking them to significant places of reference mentioned in the Bible, to match literal knowledge with practical exposure.'Citti Twelve Pilgrimage and Tours is practically coming out with its offer to liberalise the Christian pilgrimage exercise, so that pilgrims can schedule their tour to holy lands at any time of the year, provided the intending pilgrims have fulfilled all requirement, screening and documentation prescribed by the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC).Rev. Alabi who has wealth of experience in the management of pilgrims and tour services disclosed that his years of operation in the public sector where he was the chairman of the South-West Conference of Chairmen and Secretaries of the Christian Pilgrims Board and a stint as a member of several federal technical committees on pilgrims matters and the NCPC, were platforms, which had given him edge in field operation.He, however said that his unilateral passion for the undertaking of the Christian pilgrimage was not tied to profit making alone, but also to create a strategic platform for education, edification and exposure.'Many pastors, Christian brothers and sisters were entrenched in the words of God, but have never had the opportunity of participating in pilgrimage, simply because they do not know how to go about it or even think they will pay through their nose to embark on pilgrimage. So, with Citti Twelve Pilgrimage and Tours, we are making it more accessible to all and sundry not minding the social class they belong to provided their personal and spiritual integrity is unquestionable.'Our services are in line with the specification of the federal agency in charge of the national pilgrims exercise (Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission) and even when our operations are more often, at any appointed time our pilgrims are set, we invite the NCPC for screening and final documentation before embarking on the tour.'Alabi also added that for this year's yuletide season, Citti Twelve is packaging a tour for pilgrims to have a life-time Christmas experience in Jerusalem scheduled for December 22, 2011.
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