Setting the Tourism agenda
Christie Hill
25/02/09
With the United Nations World Tourism Day (UNWTD) approaching in September, the pressure is now on for Juliana Azumah-Mensah, the newly appointed Minister of Tourism to prepare the nation to be showcased to the world. It is at this time however, that we must ask ourselves; How will tourism help this country?
The UNWTD day is a prestigious event held annually to market a country’s ability to attract tourism. Ghana is to host this year’s event, giving the country the opportunity to prove itself as a valid tourist destination.
In an interview Ben Ohene-Ayeh, a representative of the Ghana Tourist Board, stated that a national planning committee has been put together. In a matter of weeks, they will be ready to announce their plans regarding how exactly they hope to increase tourism.
The board hopes to expand on major attraction points such as Mole and Kakum National parks, to better accommodate guests. Increasing facilities is important as admittedly, many of the common attractions remain in their raw forms. By expanding the sites to include better electricity, telephone connections, sports and entertainment as well as accommodation, it will allow the common tourist to experience the “whole package”.
There is a whole host of sites earmarked for development, including Bortianor beach, as well as the Volta Lake basin, preparing to accommodate niche resorts to promote cruising and other ecotourism. This is all to go ahead with required promotion and funding, and if the development fund is passed from Parliament.
Other more particular issues needing change include entry charges. In an interview with one tourist from the UK, she expressed her confusion as to why charges were more expensive for non-Ghanaians. “I don’t understand why we need to pay more. I feel like there is a slight prejudice, which puts me off visiting places.” When this issue was raised with the Tourist Board, they were aware of this problem and have “established dialogue” with communities who use this system, in hopes of achieving equality.
Transport is another concern, with around 6 people dying everyday from road traffic accidents, there is no doubt that something needs to be done to both the conditions of the roads and the safety of driving. Although there is rarely a shortage of transport, irresponsible drivers or overfilled vehicles cause a major concern. This, added to the often poor conditions of roads, clustered with pot holes and often not tarmacked, are definite risks taken every time a tourist wants to travel.
Perhaps the question one needs to ask is whether after these challenges are addressed tourism will be the saviour for eliminating poverty, and to what degree will it help the community?
On a recent visit to Wli waterfalls, a popular tourist attraction site which hosts around 4 million visitors per year, a representative said that approximately 20% of profit made is split between 3 local communities. One of these local villages however is in need of a secondary school for their children, as well as other necessities. They stated that although the area is increasing in popularity each year, not enough money is being given to them. They did however say that a tro tro has been bought to help transport between the attraction and surrounding villages. Likewise at Kaneshie weaving village, a source said that they hoped to put in place a better tourist reception centre. It seems that the money is being used to further increase tourism rather than enrich the community.
The UN has been praised for establishing the Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty program (STEP). It is the hope of this program that it will be able to reduce poverty by 2015 through the tourism industry. A representative from the Tourist Board agrees that the business has a “ripple effect”, and that through one attraction, many jobs can be created, bringing money to the pockets of local communities.
The board said that training programs are available for those needing education into areas such as hotel hospitality, cooking, business studies for example. Refreshers are also readily available for those who need to update or remind themselves on jobs in the tourist business.
Ghana still holds individual features that other countries cannot compete with. Statistics suggest that tourism is increasing annually, and the number of hotels have doubled in the last 10 years. Let’s hope therefore that the new Minister of Tourism, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah can put to good use the UNWT day, and this will launch Ghana into the favorite destination circle. At the same time however, it is important that the money made is used adequately, to help prevent poverty and establish people with jobs and money to lead a more enriched lives.
25/02/09
With the United Nations World Tourism Day (UNWTD) approaching in September, the pressure is now on for Juliana Azumah-Mensah, the newly appointed Minister of Tourism to prepare the nation to be showcased to the world. It is at this time however, that we must ask ourselves; How will tourism help this country?
The UNWTD day is a prestigious event held annually to market a country’s ability to attract tourism. Ghana is to host this year’s event, giving the country the opportunity to prove itself as a valid tourist destination.
In an interview Ben Ohene-Ayeh, a representative of the Ghana Tourist Board, stated that a national planning committee has been put together. In a matter of weeks, they will be ready to announce their plans regarding how exactly they hope to increase tourism.
The board hopes to expand on major attraction points such as Mole and Kakum National parks, to better accommodate guests. Increasing facilities is important as admittedly, many of the common attractions remain in their raw forms. By expanding the sites to include better electricity, telephone connections, sports and entertainment as well as accommodation, it will allow the common tourist to experience the “whole package”.
There is a whole host of sites earmarked for development, including Bortianor beach, as well as the Volta Lake basin, preparing to accommodate niche resorts to promote cruising and other ecotourism. This is all to go ahead with required promotion and funding, and if the development fund is passed from Parliament.
Other more particular issues needing change include entry charges. In an interview with one tourist from the UK, she expressed her confusion as to why charges were more expensive for non-Ghanaians. “I don’t understand why we need to pay more. I feel like there is a slight prejudice, which puts me off visiting places.” When this issue was raised with the Tourist Board, they were aware of this problem and have “established dialogue” with communities who use this system, in hopes of achieving equality.
Transport is another concern, with around 6 people dying everyday from road traffic accidents, there is no doubt that something needs to be done to both the conditions of the roads and the safety of driving. Although there is rarely a shortage of transport, irresponsible drivers or overfilled vehicles cause a major concern. This, added to the often poor conditions of roads, clustered with pot holes and often not tarmacked, are definite risks taken every time a tourist wants to travel.
Perhaps the question one needs to ask is whether after these challenges are addressed tourism will be the saviour for eliminating poverty, and to what degree will it help the community?
On a recent visit to Wli waterfalls, a popular tourist attraction site which hosts around 4 million visitors per year, a representative said that approximately 20% of profit made is split between 3 local communities. One of these local villages however is in need of a secondary school for their children, as well as other necessities. They stated that although the area is increasing in popularity each year, not enough money is being given to them. They did however say that a tro tro has been bought to help transport between the attraction and surrounding villages. Likewise at Kaneshie weaving village, a source said that they hoped to put in place a better tourist reception centre. It seems that the money is being used to further increase tourism rather than enrich the community.
The UN has been praised for establishing the Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty program (STEP). It is the hope of this program that it will be able to reduce poverty by 2015 through the tourism industry. A representative from the Tourist Board agrees that the business has a “ripple effect”, and that through one attraction, many jobs can be created, bringing money to the pockets of local communities.
The board said that training programs are available for those needing education into areas such as hotel hospitality, cooking, business studies for example. Refreshers are also readily available for those who need to update or remind themselves on jobs in the tourist business.
Ghana still holds individual features that other countries cannot compete with. Statistics suggest that tourism is increasing annually, and the number of hotels have doubled in the last 10 years. Let’s hope therefore that the new Minister of Tourism, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah can put to good use the UNWT day, and this will launch Ghana into the favorite destination circle. At the same time however, it is important that the money made is used adequately, to help prevent poverty and establish people with jobs and money to lead a more enriched lives.
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