…stakeholders call for dismantling of barriers
Once again, Accra, the capital city of Ghana, witnessed the influx of visitors from across the West African region, who graced this year’s edition of Accra Weizo, a thriving travel expo and rallying point for travel industry stakeholders in the West African region.
Now in its 7th edition, the one-day travel expo, which held at Accra City Hotel, Ghana, offers a B2B platform for mutual exchanges and result-oriented engagements for participants, while furthering efforts at boosting sustainable tourism, seamless travels, and especially more collaborations among stakeholders in travel sector in West Africa.
From Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana, the travel and tourism industry professionals, who were joined by some colleagues from Kenya and Ethiopia, engaged in intellectual discussions, practical sessions, while sharing their experiences and insights for the benefit of the industry players across the region.
In his opening speech at the event, Ikechi Uko, CEO, Akwaaba Africa Travel Market, the organisers of expo, expressed his excitement at the well-attended event, saying that with over 400 million population, many enthralling tourism potential and colourful cultural and gastronomy diversities, the West African region has all it takes to lead Africa’s travel and tourism industry across all indices.
Regretting that the region is not living up to that expectations, he noted that Accra Weizo was created to address these challenge by bringing stakeholders, including governments on one platform to discuss way forward, match words with actions, engender healthy rivalry among businesses in the industry and ultimately to ensure sustainable tourism and seamless travel within the region.
Uko highlighted how a pre-event road trip across Nigeria-Benin Republic-Togo-Ghana exposed the participants to the enthralling beauties along that corridor, especially the coastline, while encouraging more of such trips beyond the four countries for better knowledge and appreciation of tourism in West Africa by West African citizens.
Sharing same sentiments,
Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) noted that the travel industry will soar in the region if the individual countries and tourism bodies collaboration more.
Ben Anane-Nsiah, deputy chief officer, general services, GTA, insisted that if the stakeholders continue to build bridges, break barriers, and pave the way for a thriving tourism sector, economies across the region will benefit from it as lives of the people will be enriched.
To this end, Anane-Nsiah urged the participants to seize the opportunity at Accra Weizo to engage, learn and inspire one another for the good of the industry, the economy and the people.
On her part, Alisa Osei-Asamoah, president, Tour Operators Union Ghana (TOUGHA), described Accra Weizo as a beacon of collaboration and innovation in the industry, as well as a platform where stakeholders share insights, forge partnerships, and collectively work towards the growth and development of tourism in the region.
“This event is not just a conference; it is a celebration of the rich cultural heritage, the breathtaking landscapes, delectable cuisines and the vibrant communities that make West Africa a unique and captivating destination.
“In this spirit of unity and progress, TOUGHA is proud to be a partner in this transformative journey. Our mission has always been to promote sustainable tourism, enhance service excellence, and create unforgettable experiences for travellers. Through our combined efforts, we aim to showcase the unparalleled beauty and diversity of West Africa to the world,” Osei-Asamoah said.
She also expressed her excitement on meeting with her Nigerian colleagues who travelled by road for an experiential tour of some sites and attractions in Benin and Togo.
“It was a truly, thrilling experience and I say Ayekoo to all those who took part in it to make it a success.
“This is the sort of partnership and colloaboration Accra Weizo engenders and TOUGHA is proud to be associated with it,” she noted further.
Olanma Ojukwu, CEO, GOTA Voyages Benin Republic, also remarked that with committement and sustained collaborations, West Africa can become a premier destination for travellers from all corners of the globe.
She thinks that some progress has been made, considering successful maiden road trip across the Nigeria-Benin Republic-Togo-Ghana corridor, which exposed progress and laspeses on the corridor, especially border challenges as well as offering feedback for improvement.
The GHATOF, Rwandair, Kenya Airways, Dodi Travels and other key participants in the travel expo, also shared their experiences, amid reiterating their support and collaborations in the industry.
In the tradition of the Accra Weizo, there were speakers and panels of discussion on industry issues and trend relevant to the region’s growth.
Priscillia Wellington, CEO Customer Service Africa, the first speaker on the theme, ‘Hospitality: Setting Acceptable Standards for Customer services in West Africa’, urged for the adoption of standardized customer service practices in West Africa.
She noted that doing so would be a game-changer as high customer service standards in West Africa has the potential to revolutionize the region’s customer experience landscape, driving economic growth, job creation, and increased customer loyalty.
As well, Ama Akoto, deputy director, (Hospitality) Standards and Quality Assurance, Ghana Tourism Authority GTA, noted the region cannot appeal to international visitors when packages and services lack certain standards.
He called on travel businesses across the region to be intentional in their packages and offerings bearing in mind the target market and also need to make the adoption of world best practices in their operations a tradition.
In the first panel on ‘Growing Partnership Among Travel and Tour Professionals in West Africa’, moderated by Caleb Kofie, executive director, Service Excellence Foundation, the panelists, including: Nana Basoah Boakye, CEO, BT Travel and Tours Ghana; Olanma Ojukwu, CEO, GOTA Voyages, Benin Republic, Shalom Asuquo, CEO, Travelab Nigeria and Alisa Asamoah, president, Ghana Tour Operators Association, all decried the inability of the region to become Africa’s tourism powerhouse, citing reasons as well as offering solutions.
Some of the challenges that hinder collaborations and growth, according to the tour operators, includs: lack of trust among tour operators, stressful border crossing, high airfares and accommodation rates in the region, language barriers, poor infrastructure and product packaging, among others.
Offering solutions, they called for healthy competition, more collaborations and government interventions where necessary.
“We need taxes on airfares to reduce for fares to come down, incentives to hotels to reduce rates, and compliance with ECOWAS free movement protocol at the borders to ensure seamless tourism exchanges in the region,” they unanimously requested.
One of the highlights of the event was a keynote speech by Esayas WoldeMariam, managing director of Asky Airlines, on ‘The Challenges of Airline Interconnectivity in West Africa’.
The Asky Airlines MD decried that airfares are unnecessarily very expensive across African countries, especially West African countries because of the exorbitant charges the governments impose on airlines.
One of such charges, according to him, is the $2,000 overflight fee.
Other contributors to high airfares within the continent and also hinder seamless air travel in the region, according to the MD, include; poor infrastructure, high taxes and levies, traffic rights and non-implementation of Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM).
Offering solutions, he called on African governments to emulate its European counterparts by opening its borders more to the travelling public.
Another highlight of the event was the presentation of award to Asky as the Best Airline in West Africa by the organisers of Accra Weizo. The award was received by the Asky Airlines MD, who noted that it was a call to do more in the West African region, while expressing the commitment of the airline to connect more countries in West Africa by air.
At the end, Uko expressed gratitude to the Ghana Tourism Authority, which partnered with him in organising the expo, all the participants, the tour operators, airlines, students and Accra City Hotel, the host, for the successful 7th edition, while promising a bigger and better 8th edition.
Considering the huge success of the four-country road trip, part of what will make next year’s edition of the expo thicker will be an enlarged road trip from Nigeria-Benin Republic-Togo-Ghana, and participations from Keyan and others from other regions of Africa.
