By Kofi Akordor
Ghanaians are generally fun-loving people. That is why they take advantage of every national holiday or any special occasion to celebrate with food, drink and music. Even funerals which are supposed to be solemn occasions are fun as soon as the dead is buried.
Unfortunately, recreational spots are woefully limited, thereby compelling most residents of Accra to turn to the beaches for pleasure during holidays and special occasions. This always comes with its dangers as our beaches are not well-developed for mass use by holidaymakers.
This year’s Easter beach parties turned tragic when over nine deaths through drowning or stampede were recorded. Accidents do occur no matter the precautions but either way, fatalities could have been prevented or reduced if there were good management in place at the various beaches frequented by revellers.
Take the La Pleasure Beach for instance. Apart from the sea and sand, there is nothing pleasurable about the place. All the same, people are able to extort money from holidaymakers without providing for their needs, safety and security.
This brings in the question of how enterprising our tourism industry is, for which a whole ministry has been created. The creation of the Ministry of Tourism underscores the government’s acknowledgement of the importance of tourism in packaging the country for the international market and for revenue generation.
The country abounds in tourism potential from the coastal belt with its sandy beaches to the northern zone, which could be developed to attract not only international tourists but local ones who need to travel and appreciate the good things God has endowed this country with.
It is an obvious fact that it is the interest that local people show in their tourist sites that act as magnets to attract foreign visitors. In Ghana, apart from students and occasionally church and other social groups who organize group tours, many Ghanaians show very little interest in internal tourism.
The fault is not theirs. Tourism has seen very little development, if any at all, and, therefore, holds very little attraction to the generality of the population. Take the Aburi Botanical Gardens for example. This wonderful place opened in March 1890 on 64.8 hectares of land is only 35 kilometres away from Accra, the national capital.
Situated 460 metres above sea level, Aburi Botanical Gardens is one of the most beautiful, peaceful and fascinating places that many Ghanaians and foreign visitors would like to visit, for the sheer beauty of the place or to relax and kill stress because of the invigorating nature of the place. I mean this would happen under normal circumstances, but things are not normal at Aburi Botanical Gardens.
Since the colonialists handed over the place to us, we have done very little to add value to it. I will not be surprised if the people of Aburi no longer feel any sense of pride about the place. The visitor is left in awe at the beauty of nature. That is all. Other things that should complement the place and make it exciting and attractive are not there. By now, Aburi Botanical Gardens should have modern chalets that would attract writers, the religiously-inclined, the sick and even newly-wed couples who want a quiet but luxurious environment to spend a few days to work, meditate, convalesce or enjoy at a reasonable fee.
It needs good restaurants which serve local dishes for the sake of foreign guests who will want to savour some of our delicacies they cannot find in their home countries. It needs amusement parks where children, accompanied by their parents, could visit at weekends for educational tours and relaxation.
After more than 100 years of existence, Aburi Botanical Gardens has lost its ‘gardenness’ and is now more or less a forest reserve with very little attraction for those who love nature and the luxury of green vegetation. So even though Aburi Botanical Gardens is so close to Accra, the city dwellers do not frequent the place as expected. Foreigners who would want to escape the harsh winter conditions in their countries to spend days at Aburi Botanical Gardens may be disappointed for lack of the necessary facilities. That is the miserable story of Aburi Botanical Gardens.
The Mole Game Reserve in the Northern Region has a big name on the tourism map of Ghana. However, all excitement will be deflated when the visitor comes face-to-face with the game reserve. Mole Game Reserve is in shambles.
The game reserve is the largest national park and home to 93 mammalian species, 33 reptiles, nine amphibians and an estimated 300 bird species. With this rich collection of animals, Mole Game Park should be an attraction to both local and foreign visitors, but it is not. The roads are bad; the hospitality facility is very poor and inadequate. What nature has generously provided, we as human beings have failed to harness and add value to.
The overlord of the Gonja Traditional Area, Yagbonwura Tuntumka Boresa I, in desperation, called on the government to do something about the game reserve to save it from total collapse when he addressed his people at the recent Damba festival of the people.
Our beaches have been degraded to the extent that only we find it a suitable place for holidays. Beach fronts are prime zones in many places where many would like to spend their days and evenings. Ours have been turned into public toilets and dumping grounds for refuse.
Aburi Botanical Gardens and Mole Game Reserve are true reflections of how serious we have taken tourism development in the country over the years. The places are not accessible. When you manage to get there, you are quickly disappointed by what you see or what you do not see.
Even the castles and forts that we market widely for historical reasons have not been developed and repackaged as tourism attractions for both local and foreign visitors.
Tourism has the potential of bringing money not only into the national coffers, but also capable of changing the economy of our rural areas. The multiplier effect of tourism facilities are obvious and should be known to our political leaders who need to pursue an aggressive tourism development agenda and not the lip-service witnessed so far.
Employment generated in the tourism industry will be more long-lasting and not the short-term measures being pursued by our governments for some political advantage. The vast tourism potential of the Volta Lake, with its numerous islands, are being wasted away while we continue to beg others who know how to harness their natural resources for development for support. Dodi Island is another disappointment for those who were excited on hearing of the place and visited there.
Tourism is a money spinner and can transform our economy, especially the rural economy. But if we are to make it big, then tourism development counts. If we are serious then the plans must be taken away from the desks of bureaucrats and their political masters to the corporate world where firms and individual entrepreneurs will be prepared to make heavy investments in the industry.
Maybe if the Tourism Development Authority becomes real, it would generate more heat and put a fresh impetus into the sector. Aburi Botanical Gardens, the Mole Game Reserve and such other places must not die. And Ghanaians should not die at the beaches because of poor management practice.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
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