The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Tourism Board, Mr. Ekow Sampson has disclosed that Nigeria is a major source market as far as Ghana’s tourism is concerned and continued to play a vital role in Ghana’s tourism business.

In his welcome address at the just concluded Accra Weizo in Ghana, Mr Ekow stated that Nigeria, Cote D’lvoire and Liberia remained among the top ten arrival countries, with about 9.5 percent, 1.8percent and 1.6 percent of total annual arrivals respectively in Ghana.

He explained that the Accra Weizo is one of the events geared towards getting stakeholders in the tourism industry in West Africa to cooperate amongst themselves as the event aims at creating a seamless travel in West Africa by bringing together travel professionals, consumers, suppliers, intermediaries, media personnel’s, academia from the Sub region for interaction, effective marketing, sharing of knowledge, promotion and development of tourism in West Africa.

Ekow observed that the theme of the fair, Tourism and Development Through
Digitalization,” is appropriate because tourism and technological advancement
have been tightly interwoven for the past 25 years.

He noted that Internet and information
technologies are crucial on all operational, structural, marketing, and strategic levels to facilitate global communication between suppliers, consumers, and intermediaries.

He said it is important for tourism enterprises to embrace digitalization and innovation after
post covid to drive sustainable and inclusive growth of tourism in Africa.

Ekow expressed appreciation to Mr. Ikechi Uko, the organizer of Accra –
Weizo and Akwaaba Travel Market, Nigeria for his tremendous contribution,
determination, consistency and perseverance in the development and promotion of tourism in the West Africa subregion.

He stated that in 2021 Ghana domestic
tourism arrivals of 588,946 has grown to 937. 087 in 2022 representing 59percent year growth, adding that this is well above GTA’s domestic tourism arrival target of 600,000.

He pointed out that one of the many strategies adopted by the Ghana
Tourismn Authority (GTA) is to create local and international awareness of Ghana’s tourism products through participation in both local and international Tourism
Fairs and Exhibitions.

Ekow said Fairs and Exhibitions are considered the most effective ways
of reaching out to the markets and also provide unique platform for buyers and
sellers to interact for business through face to face, business to business in a unique manner.

Speaking also, Ghana Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Awal, represented by the Director Human Resources, Mr. Otto Langmagne emphasized the need for synergy to drive the sector.

Awal stated that the collaboration which definitely is either going to be a push or pull from Nigeria or Ghana, is needed to move tourism forward in the sub region.

He said: “I do know that this collaboration definitely is either going to be a push or pull from Nigeria or Ghana, what is important is that we need that synergy”.

He explained more that: “We are witnessing an unprecedented
period of digital transformation that will not only affect tourism,
but also the global economy as a whole.
This transformation is driven by new technologies such as
artificial intelligence, big data, digital identities and virtual
reality, and is transforming the way we do business. Businesses
are now able to use digital tools to increase efficiency, reduce
costs, increase speed, and provide more tailored services to customers”.

Awal stated that we can use the power of
digitization to create an environment that encourages innovation and competition, and that provides a platform for businesses to reach new customers and capture more of the existing market.

According to him, “This transformation must come with safeguards to protect
consumer rights. We must ensure that the right data is collected and stored securely, and that customers are informed about their digital footprints. We must also ensure that the tourism industry is able to attract the best talent, and provide a safe and secure working environment, and that businesses are able to compete fairly in a global market”.

The minister said today, Ghana and Nigeria have the opportunity to harness the power of digitization, and make tourism an engine of economic growth and development.

In his opening remarks, the organiser of Acrra Weizo, Mr Ikechi Uko stressed the need for West Africa to collaborate in many areas ranging from travel and tourism, to trade instead of sharing her strength.

Uko observed that ECOWAS has not really made progress since its inception and has not really integrated.

He said East Africa that started many years after West Africa has made tremendous progress in many areas.

He said West Africa needs to work together instead of working in silos in areas like common currency and free movement of goods and services without too many road blocks and restriction .

Uko stated that other sub regions within Africa are looking to make up their numbers from the West Africa market with their huge population.

He stressed the need to grow Accra Weizo through cooperation and collaborations with other countries within the sub region.