[ 2021-02-24 ]

COVID-19 - wreck on Tourism and Creative Arts in Central Region
Without doubt, Central Region is the fortress of
tourism in Ghana and remains the favourite of
holidaymakers craving for enjoyment on the
pristine coastal frontline and disturbance-free
time around in its forests area.








From the coastal plains in the south, to the
rolling forested hills of the north, is the visual
delight of tourists’ attractions and beautiful
artistic sceneries of the Region, which has two of
UNESCO acclaimed World Heritage sites.

Approximately three hours drive, west of Accra,
Cape Coast, the regional capital is strategically
positioned and well prepared for tourist arrivals
with classified accommodation and excellent
catering services, established tour operators,
efficient transportation and a host of
activities.

Some of the beachfront facilities are fitted with
golf courses, sauna and spa, excellent views of
the sea under the shade of palm and coconut trees
for a romantic dinner and relaxation. At night,
the true beauty of the beaches is revealed in the
splendidly decorated beachfront with thatch roofs.
They have scented oil lamps, summer huts and a
beautiful bonfire whilst enjoying fresh tilapia,
oysters and other sea-foods.

Unfortunately, the outbreak of the flu-like global
pandemic - COVID-19 has dealt a big blow to
tourist arrivals at these splendid facilities. The
tourism, culture and creative arts sectors of the
Region have been badly hit.

The government, last month announced the
re-imposition of some restrictions on some social
activities – funerals, weddings, concerts,
theatrical performances and parties, in the wake
of the second wave of the infection.

The beaches, night clubs, cinemas and pubs
continue to be shut and the land and sea borders
closed.


Cape Coast Castle

The Cape Coast and Elmina Castles,
Africa's-renowned UNESCO heritage sites were
temporary shut to tourists until the restrictions
were eased.

The Central Regional Head of the Ghana Museums and
Monument Board (GMMB), Mr. Ato Ashun, said their
expectations were high following the huge success
of the “Year of Return” in 2019 - the
management of the castles were expecting loads of
visitors in the year 2020 only for the pandemic to
strike.

“Many of those who came to Ghana and visited the
Castles had advertised the facility well for us
and this we anticipated would have brought in many
more visitors. From all indications, this year
would have been a really good year until COVID-19
smashed our hopes,” he added.

Even at the peak of the pandemic and closure, Mr
Ashun said many people still called to inquire
whether the facility was opened.

No visitors, no revenue

The closure of the facilities for months dried up
their revenue stream.

They kept only a skeletal staff to keep the place
in shape and they included artisans to carry out
normal routine maintenance.


Virtual tourism

To help salvage the situation, Mr Ashun said the
GMMB was working on virtual tourism, where virtual
visitors would be given a presentation on the
facility and a virtual tour to sustain interest in
the castles.

The pandemic struck at a time when the castles had
begun to reap the fruits of the “Year of
Return”, which was launched to mark the 400
years of the first enslaved African arriving in
Jamestown, Virginia.

“Our visits in 2019 were huge. We saw visits we
had not seen in the past 20 years and we were
anticipating even greater numbers but the pandemic
dealt us a big blow. We had about 20,000 visitors
in December alone. We were expecting many more
this year,” he stated.

Rippling effects

Not only the castle and its staff had been
economically hit, businesses such as restaurants
and artefacts shops at the castle have also
suffered.

Mr Kobina Manu, a father of four, who owns an
artifact shop at the castle premises, said things
were bad. “I am hungry and so is my family
because we have been out of business for more many
months. This is not a joke; the impact on our
lives and families are too much”.

During my visit to the castle somewhere last year,
it was noticed that the artifact shops were closed
and some of the objects were gathering mildew.
Patrons of the shops are mostly visitors to the
castle and so now that no one is going to the
place, there obviously cannot be many buyers.

Mr Manu said he was struggling with his family and
other dependents. “Every seller here is worse
off. It is a worrying situation and we hope
COVID-19 goes away soon and we get support to
restart our businesses,” he stated.

At the time of the visit, the Akwaaba Spot, an
eatery at the castle also remained closed; its
chairs rested on the dusty tables.

The castle remains a major tourist site in the
country and its closure is adversely affecting
many people and enterprises in different ways.

There is however, optimism that after the pandemic
– when people get back their normal way of life,
all would be done to recover the time and revenue
lost through aggressive and effective marketing
strategies to attract visitors.

“The economic impact of the closure is huge. I
believe we would get back. It would take time but
certainly the Cape Coast Castle would bounce
back,” Mr Manu stated.

Kakum National Park

The Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust (GHCT),
managers of the Kakum National Park says, it lost
in excess of GH¢400,000.00 in revenue due to the
pandemic which culminated in its closure.

The Park is made up of mostly undisturbed virgin
rainforest and is one of the famous national parks
in Ghana with canopy walkways, situated about 33km
north of Cape Coast.

According to Mr Michael Amonoo, the Marketing
Officer for the GHCT, the situation has affected
the organization's liquidity and they have also
been struggling with the rising cost of
maintenance.


Cancelled visits


Mr Amonoo said the GHCT had been forced to cancel
all its scheduled visits largely by foreigners -
their main source of revenue. At peak and off-peak
seasons, the facility could record not less than
11,000 local and 4,000 foreign visitors per
month.

The closure also had had rippling effects on the
incomes of hotels, restaurants, traders and
communities that derive their livelihoods around
the facility. "Except the labourers and security
guards manning the forest reserve and the
facility, all other employees have been sent
home.

Emancipation Celebration

In July 2020, the GTA launched the 2020
Emancipation Day celebrations to kick-start
activities for the year’s programme. The annual
celebration for the first time was done virtually
via Zoom due to the disease.

The celebration offers the opportunity to travel,
enjoy the nightlife and to have an exchange of
culture. It establishes new relationships, creates
memories and introduces people to business
opportunities and entrepreneurs in Ghana and
beyond.

Unfortunately, the climax of the celebration at
Assin Manso was without the usual pomp and display
due to COVID-19. A solemn ceremony was held to
climax the event.

The then Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture,
Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, in her address
acknowledged the impact of COVID-19 on the
celebrations.

“We all know that COVID-19 has impacted how we
go about our daily lives. Inevitably, our
celebrations this year will look different.
COVID-19, however, has provided us with the
opportunity to be more creative, to have more
focus on our local arts and culture, and to make
sure our heritage is properly recognised.”

Testimonies

Mr. Stephen Mensah, who had travelled from Accra
to witness the event for the first time expressed
his disappointment at the low patronage.

Mr John Baidoo, a dealer in Arts and Crafts, could
equally not hide his disappointment.

"Year of Return", and "Beyond Return"

Year 2019 brought large numbers of
African-Americans, including many celebrities, as
well as others from the diaspora to Ghana to
celebrate the "Year of Return".

They included ace model, Naomi Campbell, actor
Idris Elba, comedian Steve Harvey, American rapper
Cardi B, TV sports presenter Mike Hill, and author
Luvvie Ajayi.

"Beyond the Return” which was slated from 2029,
is a follow-up to the successful Year of Return
campaign which commemorated the 400th Anniversary
of the arrival of the first recorded enslaved
Africans in Jamestown Virginia in 1619.

The landmark campaign also celebrated the
resilience of the African over the past 400 years
and welcomed all people of African origin to
return to Africa especially Ghana.

Mrs Oteng-Gyasi announced that the year-long
programme provided Ghana with an economic boost of
almost US$1.9bn (£1.5bn). The government also
said the Year of Return had drawn wider attention
to Ghana and positively influenced international
media reports.

Travel restrictions

In March 2020, the Ministry of Information,
released travel advisory information and according
to the release, the only people permitted to enter
Ghana were Ghanaians, people with Ghanaian
residency or people from countries with fewer than
200 COVID-19 cases.

Consequently, airlines suspended or reduced their
flights to Ghana. Emirates Airlines, for example,
announced it would cease flights to the country
until at least May 20. Delta Airlines and KLM also
temporarily suspended flights to the country.

At the time of the travel advisory, the
Director-General of the Ghana Civil Aviation
Authority, Simon Allotey, estimated that COVID-19
would reduce revenue by 20 percent for the
Ghanaian aviation industry.

The new travel restrictions meant that there would
be no demand for commercial flights. The
previously predicted 20 percent reduction is now
likely to be significantly more.

The reduction in flights and visitors means
reduced revenue from aero plane landing fees, fees
for using Ghana’s airspace, and other charges
such as the passenger safety charge.

Entertainment Industry

Musicians in Ghana are feeling the brunt of the
outbreak of the disease, forcing them to either
cancel or postpone their schedules.

Musicians like rapper Patapa, Sarkodie, Kofi
Kinata, Kwame Eugene among others were booked last
year to perform in Germany, United Kingdom, USA
and other African countries. Unfortunately, their
trips had to be cut short following the
government's travel ban.

The “One Corner” hit-maker, Patapaa, who was
initially due for an European tour last year
expressed disappointment, saying the COVID-19 had
caused a great disservice to musicians not only in
Ghana but to others around the world.

Support

Policies to support firms and workers during the
pandemic were ill-adapted to the non-traditional
business models and forms of employment in the
sector.

In addition to short-term support for artists and
firms, from both the public and private sector,
policies can also leverage the economic and social
impacts of culture in their broader recovery
packages and efforts to transform the local
economy.

Conclusion

Encouraging news on vaccines has boosted hopes for
recovery but challenges remain with the sector
expected to be in survival mode until the middle
to the end of 2021.

Domestic tourism has restarted and is helping to
mitigate the impact on jobs and businesses in some
destinations. However, real recovery will only be
possible when international tourism returns. This
requires global co-operation and evidence-based
solutions so that travel restrictions can be
safely lifted.

Survival of businesses in the tourism ecosystem
would largely depend on government’s continued
support.

Although government has acted to give some cushion
to the tourism industry, to minimise job losses
and recover in 2021 and beyond, more would need to
be done, and in a more coordinated way.

While flexible policy solutions are needed to
enable the tourism economy to live alongside the
virus in the short to medium term, it is important
to look beyond this and take steps to learn from
the crisis, which has revealed gaps in government
and industry preparedness and response capacity.
Co-ordinated action across governments at all
levels and the private sector is essential.

The crisis is an opportunity to rethink tourism
for the future. Tourism is at a crossroads and the
measures put in place today will shape the tourism
of tomorrow. Governments need to consider the
longer-term implications of the crisis, while
capitalising on digitalisation and promoting
structural transformation required to build a
stronger, more sustainable and resilient tourism
economy.

Source - GNA

... go Back