Story by Dennis Bebane
The Communications Expert for the Ghana Tourism Development Project (GTDP), Tanko Musah Zakaria, has allayed the fears of stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry.
He stated that the new Legislative Instrument (L.I. 2393), which is being implemented, will not worsen the already existing challenges of the industry.
He said that anytime there is new legislation, people see it as a hindrance and bureaucratic, but he was optimistic that the L.I would help regulate and standardise their activities to meet minimum or international standards. He stated that this would improve tourism and attract more people to the sites and facilities.
The LI, when implemented, will ensure that owners of tourist sites or hotels meet basic requirements such as toilet facilities, general security, a hygienic environment, and proper record-keeping of all visitors, among others.
Mr. Zakaria was speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement forum on the new LI in Wa.
The workshop was to train and sensitise stakeholders on the new L I 2393, which was passed by parliament in 2019 to pave the way for its implementation by the Ghana Tourism Authority.
The Communications Expert for the Ghana Tourism Development Project, Tanko Musah Zakaria, explained that the tourist sites will also be categorised according to the facilities available.
He said it was about time the country moved the industry to the next level. Mr. Zakaria observed that the world over, tourism is competing with the traditional sources of generating income for countries, and there was a need for Ghana to diversify its way of making money.
He said the LI is not meant to put any impediment on their activities but to help guide and support them to improve their operations.
“The LI is to put in place mechanisms that will help regulate the industry so that we know that whatever we are doing we are doing it according to standards. I took the pain to go through the LI with my legal eye and I realised that this is not bad legislation at all. If you look at that legislation as industry players yourselves, it will help you in a number of ways. There were a lot of things that you had to do, but because there wasn’t any statutory requirement to do them, sometimes you ignored them. But now, because there is that statutory requirement to do it, you will be forced to do it. By so doing, you will generate a lot of data, statistics that will help you improve the way you are doing things,” he stated.
Ghana Tourism Development Project Focal Person, Gomeli Dzordzorme said the essence of the LI is to ensure that there is value for money and increased domestic tourism.
“If a patron goes to any site they will have value for money they spend there and by words of mouth you known marketing has difference sectors and strategies that you used, for instance social media. You will hear about the place and you go and you are happy about it and you will recommend the place to others. Now the other thing is that once the person is satisfied, he is likely to return,” Mr Dzordzorme stated.
Mr Dzordzorme believed that the sensitization exercise will help deepen the understanding of stakeholders. He said many are ignorant about what is expected of them and that they will visit to all the 16 Regions to educate the people about the new LI on their operations.
The Upper West Regional Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Moses Ndewin Ndebugri observed that the region is blessed with a lot of tourist sites but the few that are operational do meet standard. He said it is only Wechiau Hippo Santuary and Gwollu Slave Defence wall that have the facilities. Mr Ndebugri said the new LI will help encourage sites managers and operators to develop their facilities in order to attract more tourists.
Upper West Regional Chairman for Tour Guide Association, Abdul-Aziz Pelpuo said the Association welcomes the New LI with good faith as it will help reduce the disappointment that tourists go through at some facilities.
He said anytime they sent tourists to sites and the experience is not up to the mark, it affects their operations.
