Editorial: In praise of paragliding

Tomorrow, the third annual paragliding festival will take off in Atibie, Kwahu - a four-day sports event which is expected to attract visitors from around the country.

Launched by the late Ferdinand Ayim, the then-Special Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, in 2005, the paragliding festival was an innovative idea, and one which should be used as a blueprint for planning other such events. Combining the already-growing popularity of Kwahuland during the Easter period – the area has its own traditional events which coincide with the Easter holiday – and the lush mountainous environment, the Ministry of Tourism devised a plan which would further enhance the area's tourism potential, and make it a focal point for Easter activities in Ghana.

They came up with paragliding, which is ideal for hilly or mountainous areas, and an excellent way to see the view in an area famed for its breathtaking scenery and enjoyable weather – fresh and cool.

The festival is an example of how the tourism industry is branching out into new or unusual forms of activity; offering the holidaying Ghanaian or the visiting foreigner something different and worth travelling for, striving to set Ghana apart from its competitors, and to encourage more internal and domestic tourism.

Indeed, paragliding fits neatly within a new trend for adventure sports amongst many young Westerners, and is also proving popular among Ghanaians (although many who attend the Kwahu festival keep their feet firmly on the ground; for them, it is thrill enough to see others take to the skies off the Kwahu Hills in the free-flying, foot-launched aircraft.)

The festival is also an example of effective public-private partnership within the tourism industry, with Pepsi-cola the main sponsor for the event, which is organised by the Tourism Ministry.

Now, tourism planners – in government and without – must think of other ways to build on this 'niche tourism" idea, and other dates around which to pin these ideas.

As it is, too few of our national resources are yet tapped, too little made of what this country has to offer, to both relaxing Ghanaians and visitors from abroad. People will visit Kwahu for the paragliding and the Easter festivities, for example – why and when should they visit other parts of the country? The Joseph Project and Panafest, which both take place in July of this year, are a further example of imaginative planning – developing the country as a destination for African Diasporans who want to explore their ancestral roots and the history of slavery, and giving those visitors a particular temporal focus and time to visit.

Panafest is private-sector run, the Joseph Project Government initiated; our hope is that the two work together, to increase visitor numbers and grow our tourism industry.

A similar concept is the National Chocolate Day which was launched on February 14, and will now be an annual feature. Speaking with The Statesman at the time, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, the Tourism Minister, spoke of plans to develop "chocolate tourism," with a circuit being constructed from the Mampong cocoa farm of Tetteh-Quarshie, the man credited with bringing productive strains of cocoa to Ghana in 1870.

The circuit would include the opportunity for visitors to stay on a working cocoa farm, living with a farmer and his family; to visit the Cocoa Research Institution of Ghana, to find out about improvements in the cocoa industry and other products being made from the crop; and also to tour the various chocolate factories, to watch the processing of cocoa butter and the production of chocolate confectionary and chocolate drinks. Whether or not this particular idea has the selling power of the paragliding festival remains to be seen – The Statesman wonders if cocoa museums have the same appeal as flying – but it is at least a sign of some progress towards the oft-talked-about small-scale, ecotourism towards which national policy is striving.

Other progress might be made in the form of more outdoor activities. The hills of Ghana are ideal for paragliding; they are also ideal for less gravity-denying activities such as hiking and mountain-biking, but without the maps, trails and guides to facilitate this, such tourism will not grow. Such activities might be marketed to visiting tourists; they should also be encouraged amongst Ghanaians, to see their country and enjoy some exercise. The Kwahu paragliding festival is being held this year in honour of Ferdinand Ayim, who was tragically killed in a motor accident last year, but whose brainchild lives on.

The Statesman salutes his efforts, and calls on those within the tourism industry to take inspiration from his efforts and continue his drive.