Ghana is totally lacking out on backpack tourism. Our Ministry of Tourism, Ghana Tourism Authority and different related establishments should not taken with backpack tourism.
Just like many different low or underneath developed nations, Ghana is focusing on excessive finish tourism and solely or taken with excessive finish lodges, lodging and eating places.
But have you ever ever questioned what we as a rustic, and even Accra, Kumasi, Tema, Takoradi and different cities have to supply for leisure guests and vacationers of the developed/wealthy international locations?
If I ebook a 5-star resort in Paris, London, New York or Johannesburg, Cape Town or different actual vacationer locations what do I get the second I step out of my resort? A glowing clear purchasing middle with all huge manufacturers, worldwide normal museums, newest theater leisure, nice golf programs, a lot high-quality eating experiences, high sights and so on.
What do I get, as a excessive class vacationer the second I step out of my 4 or 5 star resort in Accra or the opposite cities? Nothing of all the sooner talked about issues I, as a 5 star vacationer respect.
What do I get: A implausible impression of a pleasant metropolis in Africa the place I can style and scent the actual African tradition of Ghana, with nice native meals accessible at nearly each avenue nook, the place the native markets and artwork markets are footsteps away, the place I can work together freely with nearly anyone at each chop bar and ingesting spot.
That is what 5 star resort visitor like additionally however they wish to return after their (largely brief) journey to their 5 star resort.
The vacationers who actually respect our actual Ghana are backpackers and younger, largely single adventurist vacationers. And these are precisely the vacationers Ghana doesn’t respect.
Recently, the Ghana Tourism Authority revealed that that they had closed lodging in and round Keta with straw rooms for vacationers to remain in as a result of they didn’t adjust to GTA requirements.
But these sort of issues are precisely what backpackers and younger vacationers love and need after they go to Ghana and Africa, just because that’s AFRICA.
Ghana just isn’t alone in the concept backpack tourism just isn’t appreciated.
Because of that Indonesia launched a examine into the consequences of backpack tourism on the economic system of Bali primarily based upon stereotyping backpack vacationers as: low spending energy, not environmentally pleasant, drunkenness, free intercourse, lack of respect for native tradition,
But let me offer you a few of the outcomes of the report: backpack vacationers additionally spend on providers like transportation, consuming and ingesting, lodging, leisure, and distinctive tourism sights.
Backpack vacationers have a bigger impression on the economic system, socio-culture, and the setting than different vacationer teams. Backpack vacationers have a extra direct impression on the native economic system and employment than excessive finish vacationers.
Backpack vacationers impression consists of the expansion and growth of native culinary companies, tourism companies within the discipline of low-cost lodging, the event of pure tourism companies resembling rafting, monitoring, and biking, which give alternatives for enterprise and work to cut back the stream of urbanization.
Not talked about on this report however primarily based upon my private info and hospitality expertise and analysis:
Youth (from 16 to twenty-eight) are spending on holidays is 40% increased than married {couples}.
Youth spending on holidays is as much as 60% increased than households are spending.
Youth time spend on holidays is nearly 90% increased than all vacationers teams.
Youth visiting and spending their holidays in creating international locations is over 160% than all different vacationer teams.
Youth being 17% of the inhabitants (in EU and USA) are spending nearly half of all cash spent by all vacationer teams on holidays overseas.
Backpackers are opening new vacationer markets, while I can add that 5-star lodges and organized tourism by no means open new markets.
Backpackers are searching for journey, enjoyable, music, tradition, sports activities, assembly new folks and cultures and favor spending their cash on easy issues as a result of that’s a part of the journey they’re searching for.
Looking at our Ghana and what we have now to supply I feel Ghana has all it takes to be the most recent and greatest journey backpackers vacation spot on this planet.
And what does our Ghana Tourism Authority do?
Author; Nico van Staalduinen, is a Dutch-Ghanaian businessman and hotelier