With over 400 million inhabitants, 15 nations, enthralling tourism potential, particularly an roughly 6000 kilometers shoreline, breathtaking panorama, and plenty of cultures, West African has all it takes to steer the continent in tourism arrivals and earnings.
The above was the remark of tour operators in one of many panel discussions at this 12 months’s version of Accra Weizo, an annual journey expo focused on the journey commerce throughout the West African area.
The panelists, who spoke on the occasion, which held at Accra Metropolis Lodge, Accra, Ghana, on June 28, 2024, together with: Nana Basoah Boakye, CEO, BT Journey and Excursions Ghana; Olanma Ojukwu, CEO, GOTA Voyages, Benin Republic, Shalom Asuquo, CEO, Travelab Nigeria and Alisa Asamoah, president, Ghana Tour Operators Affiliation, all decried the shortcoming of the area to turn into Africa’s tourism powerhouse, citing causes as effectively.
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Talking on the panel dialogue on the theme: ‘Rising Partnership Amongst Journey and Tour Professionals in West Africa’, the BT Journey CEO famous that the area wants extra mutual collaborations to have the ability to harness its tourism potential for the good thing about the folks and for additional growth of the area.
In accordance with Boakye, ECOWAS nations do much less journey and even commerce exchanges attributable to lack of partnerships which have additionally prevented them from scaling up their capacities in rising tourism.
“Our area receives the least tourism arrivals in Africa and we can’t enhance on that with out first encouraging our folks to journey inside the area and likewise collaboration,” Boakye stated.
In her views, Shalom Asuquo famous that along with collaboration, wholesome competitors is important to drive tourism in West Africa.
“We have to make West Africa a aggressive vacation spot for footfalls and to develop our tourism past every nation’s border,” Asuquo stated.
She famous additional that competitiveness will enhance service tradition, product providing, packaging and easy accessibility to a vacation spot by guests.
“We should be aggressive, in a wholesome method as a result of when a vacation spot doesn’t meet worldwide expectations, the footfall finish there,” she decried
Toeing identical line, Gifty Barawusu, CEO, Barjul Travels and Excursions, and consultant of Alisa Asomoah, president of Ghana Tour Operators Affiliation, supported collaboration amongst tour operators throughout the area, but in addition hinted that there’s want for wholesome competitors among the many operators to make sure high quality choices and requirements.
“Competitors breeds professionalism and permits tour companies to be revolutionary of their choices and providers in addition to imbibe world finest follow of their operations.
So, I see nothing mistaken with it so long as it’s yielding outcomes,” Barawusu stated.
However Olanma Ojukwu, CEO, GOTA Voyages, Benin Republic, known as on tour operators inside the area to drag their power collectively to be able to shut the gaps in poor service and high quality delivering.
Additionally, contemplating the inhabitants of the area, Boakye famous that if 30 % of the inhabitants journey inside the area for tourism exchanges, the area would swim in wealth, amid availability of sources for extra investments within the tourism trade.
“Allow us to cut back it to 10 %, if that quantity journey inside the area, when you do the calculation, we may have sustained earnings that can enhance our GDP and no want for IMF loans,” he stated.
Additionally on the spectacular information and potential of the area, Asuquo famous that West Africa is sufficiently big to maintain its tourism if the numbers begin transferring throughout the area whether or not for tourism or commerce.
“The ECOWAS ought to give tourism precedence and assist in eradicating all of the bottlenecks which have hinderd the areas from optimally harnessing its tourism potential. It’s a sensible factor, you can not develop tourism when these boundaries are there, particularly challenges on the borders,” she highlighted.
She additionally steered that the Nigeria-Benin Republic-Togo-Ghana tourism hall, with thousands and thousands of {dollars} potential, can be utilized as a mannequin, although it might require big assist and enhancements to achieve that top.
Olanma Ojukwu additionally suppose that the figures can’t lie and ought to be taken benefit of to enhance and develop the sector.
“Benin Republic is about 12 million folks. However we’ve got a lot import coming into our nation that find yourself in Nigeria. So, we’d like one another, we have to uncover our particular person power as nations and use them to assist the weak point of others to be able to develop.
“That is what Europeans do this make their area the most-visited on this planet immediately.
So, allow us to begin exchanging visits extra to encourage foreigners to go to additionally,” Ojukwu stated.
To make sure seamless travels, Barawusu known as on respective nations to open their borders extra to their neighbours and likewise agency border management agreements on mutual grounds bearing the curiosity of ECOWAS in thoughts.
However earlier than seamless journey can take root, Boakye steered that challenges should be handled.
The challenges, in keeping with him, embrace lack of belief, double-crossing, language barrier, forex points, insecurity, excessive airfares and lodging, poor packaging, lack of upkeep tradition, amongst others.
Boakye steered the creation of a typical platform for tour enterprise in West Africa, the place every thing may be simply accessed like journey voucher.
Barawusu known as on facility homeowners to imbibe upkeep tradition to be able to hold the property contemporary as guests need worth for cash choices.
Asuquo and Ojukwu insisted that there ought to a type of certification within the trade throughout the area to make sure requirements.
In accordance with them, fixed coaching and retraining of practitioners throughout the tour working and tourism worth chain will enhance capability to ship high quality choices and world class providers within the sector.
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On safety, Ikechi Uko, CEO, Akwaaba Africa Journey Market and the organiser of Accra Weizo, famous that tour operators want collaborations with native folks to be able to succeed and likewise hold their shoppers secure throughout their go to.
“For security, work with individuals who have native information,” Uko modified the tour operators.
He additionally famous that Acrra Weizo was initiated to deal with the shortage of platforms for tourism exchanges in West Africa.
For him, the truth that tour operators and different journey and tourism trade stakeholders collect at a spot yearly to debate their challenges, options and to additionally spotlight success made within the efforts at boosting seamless journey within the area, implies that options are at hand.
In the meantime, the panelists concluded by agreeing to collaborate extra for journey exchanges throughout the area, beginning with the Nigeria-Benin Republic-Togo-Ghana hall, with extra nations becoming a member of on the again of the succes of the initiatives.
In addition they known as on governments throughout the ECOWAS area to see the potential of tourism and assist with insurance policies that can enhance the trade to create jobs and influence the economies of the nations.
“We want taxes on airfares to cut back for fares to come back down, incentives to resorts to cut back charges, and compliance with ECOWAS free motion protocol to make sure seamless tourism exchanges within the area,” they requested.
Nevertheless, apart from the panel discussions, the journey expo had different occasions, together with a pre-event four-country highway journey, keynote paper supply and award given to Asky Airways because the Finest Airline in West Africa.
