How often do you take time off your stressful work schedule to experience nature and the numerous breath-taking tourist attractions across the country? Hardly, I guess.
Whether for our families or ourselves, a good holiday is a really important part of our lives. For many Ghanaians however, taking a trip to the countryside or a tourist destination on a weekend or during holidays is an expensive endeavour, they cannot afford.
Over the years, the country has struggled to make domestic tourism attractive and viable but this has proved an uphill battle partly because tourist destinations are poorly promoted. Other reasons for low patronage include poor accessibility, limited interest in tourism and culture among Ghanaians and absence of deals like package tours for patrons. There are amazing tourist sites scattered across the country and many of them are rarely known or explored by Ghanaians.
Along comes Ghanaian businessman, PaJohn Bentsifi Dadson, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the tourism industry and owns Bentsifi Accra Convention and Visitors Bureau. He is spearheading a new venture that could revolutionise domestic tourism to become a major contributor to the country’s economy.
Together with some institutions (Joy FM and Viasat1 Ghana), PaJohn has formed a consortium, the Tourism Marketing Alliance Ghana, with the aim of stimulating domestic tourism in Ghana through a series of television and radio programmes plus excursions to explore the tourism destinations in the country.
In the next 10 months, the consortium will run this initiative dubbed ‘See Ghana’, aimed at encouraging Accra’s residents to visit the various regional cultural and historic sites across the country, and in the process patronise hospitality establishments as well.
Interestingly, Easter in Ghana is one rare occasion when domestic tourism is very active, particularly in the Eastern and Volta regions. Many indigenes from those area as well as non-indigenes flock to towns in the eastern and volta regions for Easter celebrations. In recognition of that fact, the Kwahu Mountains in the Eastern Region has been selected for the first of many excursions under the banner ‘A Highland Affair’ on March 28, just before Easter.
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