By Jones Anlimah
As the Volta Region prepares to host Ghana’s 66th Independence Day celebrations, players in the tourism industry in the region have been urged to position themselves to leverage the benefits that will come with the event.
The celebrations are expected to draw a large number of visitors to the region, presenting a unique opportunity for players in the tourism value chain to promote their products and services, thereby boosting tourism patronage in the region and the country at large.
One area where the Volta region has a competitive advantage over its peers is Tourism. Almost every District and Municipality in the region can boast of not less than 5 tourism potentials. Notwithstanding these potentials have not been harnessed fully for its economic gains.
The region experienced a boost in the industry with an increase in both the number of tourists and revenue generated in 2022 compared to the previous year. In 2022, the region recorded a boost in tourism patronage over the previous year with over 44, 000 visitors and a generated revenue of over 625,000 Ghana cedis as compared to 2021 figures of over 27, 000 tourists and generated a revenue of over 281, 000 Ghana cedis.
The choice of decision to let Ho, the capital of the Volta region host Ghana’s 66th Independence Day celebrations presents yet another opportunity to showcase and market the tourism potential in the region.
To this end, players in the tourism value chain in the region have been urged to reposition themselves to maximise the benefits of the number of people who will be visiting the region as the region prepares to host the 66 independent day parade.
According to the Volta Regional Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority, events are tourism products for which operators in the industry need to leverage on for its benefits.
The Regional Director of the Authority Mr Alexander Nketsiah in an interview with Gbcnews said hosting Ghana’s 66th independence day celebrations is a unique opportunity for the region to showcase the best that the region has to offer and urged players in the tourism industry to position themselves to leverage on the benefits that will come with the event.
According to him, his outfit has held a series of interactions with industry players to shore up quality of service delivery. “Increased the level of training for your guides, also offered training for the hospitality, accommodation, and catering areas to see if it would shore up their service delivery levels. The more exciting activities you have within your tourism space, the more interesting it is for visitors to come,” he noted.
“Yes we are expecting some influx of people to come in. As we speak all the hotels within the municipality are fully booked. We are doing our best to ensure that cleanliness around the city is maintained, the facilities themselves are also maintained, staffing are properly attired and then of course they up their service delivery to ensure that people get value for money when they come in and go,” he added.
A visit to some hotels and accommodation facilities within the Municipality revealed that most of such facilities have been fully booked ahead of the event.
The 66th Independence Day Celebrations are scheduled to take place in the Volta Region with a lots of activities starting from the 25th of February to the 10th of March 2023, with the parade being held on the 6th of march 2023.
With the right positioning and promotion, players in the tourism value chain can benefit from the event and help to boost the region’s economy.
