Tourism Needs support- Revisited

Mr Owusu Amoakohene, a research Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism, has called for budgetary support for tourism promotion (Ghanaweb 24 April 2006 ) Tourism, as he rightly pointed, out has become a highly competitive business. More countries in the world today place tourism as a top priority as it has become a strategy for development and the gateway to the development of other sectors of the economy.

Ghana is well endowed with natural resources suited for activities in the tourism sector. Ghana has sandy beaches though many are polluted, exciting flora and fauna, hospitable people and to some extent favourable climate. Ghana has game reserves and other attractions that could be developed eg Kakum, Mole National Park and as Charles Osei Bonsu Acting Executive Director Finance and Administration of the Tourist Board, has stated that the ?Volta Regions is a gold mine for tourism?. Accra is a relatively safe city compared to other African cities eg Johannesburg and Nairobi, and is also more welcoming.

However competitive advantage is no longer limited to natural endowments it is becoming increasingly human made and is driven by the information age, technology, human resources and innovation. In this respect, the management of the resources including human resources is the only way to gaining a competitive advantage. There are a number of management and resource issue that limit the effectiveness of the tourism sector of which budgetary allocation is only one. The Government has put tourism high on the agenda and recognised its potential to generate economic and social benefits yet the allocation to the sector is very negligible compared to expenditure on foreign travel and wastage and duplication existing in the economy. Government needs to ensure that the necessary infrastructure to facilitate tourism development is in place. How much will it cost to improve signage in Accra?

Increase in mobility is essential to a good tourist but mobility is limited by lack of good roads, a non existent domestic airline system and tour buses. The Government appears not to realise the interrelation existing between tourism and air transport. There is very little being done to facilitate air transport. We all know what happened to Ghana Airways and what is happening to GIA. How can Ghana depend solely on foreign carriers to develop its tourism potential?

The government needs to mobilise further domestic resources, in cooperation with financial institutions, people in the diaspora, business service providers and encourage the further development of the local private sector to facilitate community driven tourism programs, and small and medium size tourism enterprise programs. In relation to those in the diaspora, the missions do not have good promotional materials and programs in place to attract Ghanaians and others to invest in the country. Indeed some of the information available in some of the missions is out of date.

The Ghana Tourist Board needs to identify the natural, historic and cultural resources of the country and ensure that quality services, attractions are in place before beginning promotion campaigns. For example, Kakum is promoted as a place to visit and some in the diaspora have visited it but you are not likely to get even a postcard in the shop nor some well prepared Ghanaian meal.

We need to develop meaningful linkages to other productive sectors, such as agriculture and handicrafts. The Arts Centre in Accra appears to be the hub for handicraft activities. There are other areas that can be developed and I can think of Bonwire.

Tour operators play a vital role in the tourism industry but most of the operators lack the know-how and training. The few existing tour operators do not also see the need to build partnerships to develop products and itineraries that would attract tourists into the country. Some of the projects need injection of capital but how much does it cost to smile and be polite to a customer? There is a general culture of poor service. Customer service is an essential building block for improving customer satisfaction, loyalty and increased revenue. However, Ghanaians think they are doing you a favour when you are in reality paying for a service. A State Transport Bus that is supposed to leave at 7.30am is still not at the loading bay at 9.45am and nobody explains the delay. This is because poor service seems to be an accepted norm. In this situation there is no incentive in providing quality service. In my opinion no amount of publicity on investment opportunities in Ghana can replace the personal contacts and impression we give to prospective investors and visitors. To meet the challenges of attracting investment, everyone has a role to play: government, individual companies, private sector bodies, professional associations, the media and individuals. If all the actors play their role well in a play, the play goes well and so if every Ghanaian were to play their part well and government were to provide the required leadership and resources, perhaps, one day Ghana will be the land of promise we all wish it to be.

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