Episode
#62
(Season
3 Ep.18):
“In
Ghana, Tourism Development has been hindered by negative attitudes
towards developing tourism in the country” – Tourism Expert
AFRICA
IN FOCUS SHOW
ACCRA,
Ghana – Founder of Tourism Safety & Security Initiative (TOSS)
believes there are so many things Ghanaians can do in the country as
far as tourism is concerned. He is proposing that “if we can trace
the line down to Central region…down to Cape Coast, and once in a
year, organize a festival tracing this line down to Nkonso…in a
one-week celebration, we could celebrate it in festival, and climax
it in PANAFEST…it would create a lot of tourists into the country.”
Speaking
to “Africa in Focus” show host, E.K.Bensah Jr, in the first
programme on “Afri-Tourism” for the year, he explained that
“tourism is a unique industry and if Ghana is able to develop this
concept, it would [help serve as] an economic hub for the country.”
They want to “re-direct the psyche of tourism” in Ghanaians, he
adds. He is calling on the support of the private sector to support
the organisation and re-orient Ghanaians to the importance of
tourism.
Although
tourism is a commonsensical revenue-earner for Ghana, it emerged from
the conversation that Ghanaians have yet to build either the enabling
environment or the infrastructure for a thriving tourism industry.
A
retired insurance man of the State Insurance Corporation, Kwame
Twum-Ampofo founded TOSS in a bid to link the insurance sector with
tourism. The whole idea was to find a way of using insurance to
enable the tourism sector be more efficient. He says after the
collapse of the Bonsu Bridge, a delegation of TOSS went to visit the
site two weeks later. They asked management of Bonsu whether the
place had been insured to which they answered “the organisation is
in process of being insured.”
Asked
why it took so long to re-launch TOSS after being dormant for a
couple of years, he explained though they had challenges from the
beginning, “interests in the objectives and activities of the
organisation was rekindled as a result of increasing accidents in
tourism industry on the domestic front, especially the 1 July, 2015
accident at Bonsu arboretum in the Eastern region involving the
canopy walkway, which resulted in injuries of tourists.”
Pressed
to explain why one must pay greater attention to safety and security
in the industry, he explained how the tourist industry had become a
soft target for terrorists all over the world, and why, therefore, an
importance to safety and security was critical. In TOSS’s view, a
response to this is what they call “Tourism Police”. Twum-Ampofo
explained that, the Ghana Police Service would, like Thailand and
Egypt, have a tourism unit. He explained that visibility, just like
general police visibility, would be an important element. He
continued “we want police to be visible in all tourist centres.”
As
far as the conference on AU day—25 May— is concerned, Twum-Ampofo
said there will be a trade fair and a seminar. It will be on
awareness, safety and security. It is geared to sensitize the public
on tourism. There are six thematic areas – Tourism Safety and
Security Awareness; Tourism Police; Safety in Public Transport;
Health and Safety Awareness; Insurance Banking; and Cultural
Heritage. The main focus will be on Tourism Police.
ENDs
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“Africa in Focus” Show is hosted by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr from
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