Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA) has commended Coconut Grove Hotel at Elmina for establishing an African Village to give variety to customers who fancy African and traditional facilities to feel at home.
Zita Okai-Koi, Tourism Minister
The union applauded the hotel for the project saying it will help promote and preserve African values particularly Ghanaian cultural values as well as market the traditions and culture of Ghana to the outside world.
The president of the union Mr Gordon Adoboe who said this in an interview with the media at the African Village on Monday during a familiarisation tour noted that the place depicted real African values since it has a typical African rural accommodation settings, adding that its affordability was also reasonable in the field of tourism.
According to him, as part of the union’s monthly general meeting to go round accommodation facilities to see what it new to recommend to their customers, Coconut Grove invited them over to come and have a look at the African Village and recommend it to their customers.
He however noted that although the project seeks to portray true African values, the rooms should be furnished with television sets and fans which are basic necessities to make customers comfortable.
Mr Adoboe who is also the Chief Executive Officer of CTB World Travel in Accra said the nine year old union has launched a domestic tourism campaign where an essay competition on the topic is organised for schools in the region and students who excel are awarded.
He hinted that the first winner of the competition is now pursuing tourism at the University of Cape Coast, indicating that through the initiative a lot of students are now pursuing domestic tourism courses.
He added that the union has also been able to influence some government policies and intends to tackle the sanitation challenges in Elmina and Cape Coast since they are the hubs of tourism in Ghana.
Mr Adoboe called for the painting of castles and other tourist monuments in the region for tourists who patronise them to appreciate the history behind the buildings and to enable tourists prolong their stay for the region to generate more revenue.
He said the union will hold talks with the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa Doe and the Paramount Chief of Elmina, Nana Kodwo Conduah on the issue and find solutions to them.
The Central Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board, Mr Paul Owusu Nkansah disclosed that there has been an improvement in the patronage of tourists’ attractions in the region as 1,200 tourists visited the area in the first quarter of the year.
He again disclosed that the Cape Coast tourism committee has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) and Zoomlion to address sanitation problem in the region to attract more tourists.
STORY: FROM MAGDALENE SEY, ELMINA
