Vice President of the Events and Meeting Professionals Association of Ghana (EMPAG), Kojo Poku, has said that the nation’s improved technical capacity for business events – also known in the tourism industry as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions/events (MICE) – has set the industry on the right path for growth.
According to him, many companies in the events industry have invested in their equipment and human resources. This has led to the attraction of more conferences to Ghana, as well as a growing interest in MICE locally.
“Over the years, investments made by companies via means of staff training and the procurement of modern equipment have led to an improvement of the technical aspects in the organising of our events.”
Speaking as part of the Graphic ‘Do Ghana Travel Festival’ with support from EMPAG, Mr. Poku noted that institutions have continuously trained people over the years, and this has reflected in their work. “It is therefore not a coincidence that Ghana has one of the largest capacities in terms of translators, who play a very critical role at many functions.”
The event was organised under the theme ‘Think MICE, Think Business Events’, and brought together some key individuals within the events industry of Ghana to share key insights on their industry.
Touching on the need for collaborations, Theresa Ayoade, EMPAG President and Chief Executive Officer for Charterhouse Productions said: “Ghana is privileged to be positioned as a MICE Hub in West Africa. However, there is a need for stronger collaborations between the private and public sectors to increase the market confidence reposed in Ghana’s MICE industry by many people”. These collaborations, according to her, will go a long way to turn around the fortunes of MICE in Ghana.
On his part, Pa John Dadson – Curator of ‘Do Ghana Festival’ – cited data collection as being a major setback within the tourism industry. According to him, many event practitioners or companies are not keen on sharing data pertaining to their businesses for a variety of reasons.
“Data collection is a difficult conversation in the tourism industry, as many event practitioners and companies feel that their information will be shared with government or their competitors. This sometimes poses challenges in the bid to get a true representation of our industry, in terms of capacity, for presentation to government and sometimes investors.”
The Events and Meeting Professionals Association of Ghana (EMPAG) is a coalition of event management practitioners in Ghana. The association is noted for its advocacy for protection and growth of the events management industry in Ghana.
EMPAG supported the Graphic Communications Group to host the 2nd Graphic ‘Do Ghana’ Travel Festival webinar with focus on the MICE sector. Other supporters were Asaase Radio, Ghana Tourism Authority, Bentsifi, Grand Arena, Roam Ghana, Oxygen, and the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management-University of Cape Coast.
