…ignites Sunday afternoons with ‘Be a tourist in your own Backyard!’ Accra sightseeing tour
Sunday afternoons in Accra, at least, during the month designated as ‘Staycay September’ by the DoGhana Travel Festival, will never be the same.
From this Sunday September 3, and subsequently every Sunday afternoon thereafter, a vehicle from the stable of Nii Plants Car Rental will roll through the capital’s principal streets accompanied with insightful commentary by an expert guide from the Tour Guide Association of Ghana TOUGAG for the ‘WangoWango Accra City Sightseeing Tour’. This is presented as part of the 2nd edition of the DoGhana Travel Festival, whose primary aim is to urge urban residents to be intentional in prioritizing and patronizing what it calls “locally made locally loved’ brand Ghana experiences as part of efforts to boost domestic tourism. Mme Praba disects the festival, which seeks to encourage “looking inwards” to urgment the national effort.
Domestic tourism is the life of tourism with 80-90% of all tourism being domestic, according to the UNWTO. Calling residents to prioritize and patronize brand Ghana experiences, the festival is particularly urging those living in urban centres to step out this and every September to vacation at, or visit any of the country’s many tourist destinations which are mostly in rural communities.
Travel, beyond the thrill of exploring new places, offers a multitude of benefits that can enhance physical, mental, and emotional well-being, fostering personal growth. As a leisurely escape from the daily grind, the experience of it is transformative and life enriching in ways we might not even realize and this is what the DoGhana Travel Festival is set to roll out in a series of online, on-radio, offline and virtual programming schedule this month of September, which it has dubbed as ‘Sep-Tourism ~ Staycay September’.
The theme for this year’s edition is, “Realigning Ghana’s domestic tourism for sustainable community development.”
Aim at focusing on urging residents to ‘talk and do’ more domestic tourism, the festival has partnered with Asaase Radio to create a platform to deliberate on how to nurture the countless attractive opportunities for leisure, recreation and job creation in all 16 regions.
Instituting the ‘Deep Dive Dialogues – Tourism in Conversation’ series, industry folk get to delve into topics revolving adding value to the tourism mix, and look into the matrix of travel and its determinants alongside fields connected to heritage and culture. This will be aired on Asaase Radio.
Endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, together with some key private sector stakeholders within the tourism ecosystem, the DoGhana Travel Festival will be pivoted on the axis of progress in the dynamic domestic travel sector, and nurtured to grow organically with a bouquet of content into a powerhouse of inspiration for a nation looking to make culture the cornerstone of its development.
“Never has there been a more poignant time to ‘do Ghana'”, observes heritage and culture practitioner, Mr Akunu Dake, who is a Consultant on the festival’s planning committee. “Following the breakout of the COVID pandemic and it’s attendant lockdown and cabin fever, there has been a build up a kaleidoscope of innovative indigenous solutions, and this is what this festival seeks to highlight.”
Welcoming the festival, Prof Kwaku Boakye, Vice Chancellor of the Cape Coast Technical University and a seasoned lecturer in tourism management shared his delight, stating that “Besides smoothening-out demand fluctuations caused by international tourism, domestic tourism not only energizes local economies, it also encourages citizens to know their country better,”
He further noted that, being a middle aged person, “the emerging science that proves that tourism (especially domestic) does have tangible therapeutic benefits, makes this festival most timely.”
PaJohn Bentsifi Dadson is Founder and Curator of the festival. He explains that “with the buzz on prioritizing and patronising “locally made, locally loved” brand Ghana experiences and conversations, we will use our online touchpoints to leverage the digital plane of social media and blogs to engage audiences with immersive exploits to connect the travel community.”
The festival is the flagship event of ‘Do Ghana’, a passion advocacy project on advancing domestic tourism in Ghana by destination management firm Bentsifi.
In Accra, as part of the festival’s campaign dubbed ‘ Staycay September’ to get residents to become tourists in their own backyard, it is introducting the scheduled “WangoWango Accra Sightseeing Tour – powered by Nii Plants Car Rentals”, as a weekly tour attraction fixture on Sunday afternoons targeting families, groups, individuals and visitors.
The sightseeing tour will run a route from Ring Road Central that will feature a cruise through the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Korle Bu, Old Accra – Ga Mashie & Bukom – High Street, with a stop for an excursion at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park downtown and a photo opportunity at Black Star Square at Osu, before hitting Oxford Street, then through Cantonments to the sprawling new uptown neighborhoods of Spintex Rd, East Legon and then down the ceremonial Independence Avenue past Jubilee House and back to the starting point which will be at Jesewa B’s Little Palace Guest House next to the former Bus Stop Restaurant.
“What a day of identity Re-affirmation for me! A day at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum has left me pondering my humanity!” declared Accra resident Dr Mary Eshun, Principal of Ghana International School, after visiting the newly refurbished Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park recently.
Joining the “WangoWango Accra Sightseeing Tour – powered by Nii Plants Car Rentals” will offer you the opportunity to make your own “reaffirmation”. And, also give you the bragging rights to make pleasant memories with your own “Instagram worthy photo moment” on top of Black Star Gate.
Cease the occasion to learn of how the city of Accra, which started off as a collection of settlements along the coast, has grown organically into its current form, following the initial merger of the distinct communities of Ga Mashie, Bukom and Osu in colonial times. Discover how Awudome cemetery, which has been at its current location since the mid C18, came to be and where indegenes of Accra buried their dead prior its set up. You just might just learn you are probably standing on a grave where you are right now!
Also, did you know that the current location of the Bank of Ghana on High Street was the site for the elite gentlemen’s club called the ‘Roger Club’ which catered to the “Returnee Been-tos” affected by a certain lifestyle and accent who hovered around before independence? Or that the very elitest and exclusive expats’ stomping ground for British colonial officers, the ‘Whites Only’ Accra Club was a few kilometres away at the current location of the Arts Center?
The weekly scheduled tour is in partnership with the Tour Guide Association of Ghana, and residents are invited to participate in the festival by joining the it to experience the evolution of Ghana’s capital, Accra, from Sunday, September 3.
