Don’t dilute Ghana’s  heritage —GTA cautions event organisers

THE Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Kofi Atta Kakra Kusi, has cautioned event organisers against incorporating foreign cultural elements that can undermine the purpose of the December in GH initiative during the Yuletide.

Making a submission at the recent Graphic Showbiz X Dialogue Series on the topic Promoting Ghana’s culture during December in GH, Mr Kusi stressed that organisers should prioritise events that showcase Ghanaian music and traditions, among others, to ensure a meaningful and culturally enriching experience for visitors.

He emphasised that deviating from the core objectives of the initiative and incorporating foreign elements could disrupt the intended cultural promotion for visitors interested in experiencing Ghana.

Additionally, he said such a shift in focus will also prevent the country from realising its goal of making the initiative a global phenomenon.

"Let's not engage in cultural indoctrination during the December in GH festivities when we bring in the diasporans who want to reconnect with their roots.

The economic impact of this December in GH initiative is substantial, with an anticipated influx of 1.2 million tourists the whole year and contributing an estimated $3.4 billion to Ghana's economy, we can’t afford to make it go wrong. In order to realise these anticipated benefits, we all need to come together and safeguard the cultural integrity of the festivities and not do anything contrary.

 According to him, GTA is gathering input from stakeholders to provide insights and proposals for a clear roadmap which event organisers will follow to make the initiative better.

"As a body, we are engaging stakeholders to offer advice on practices and activities that could negatively impact the building blocks of the December in GH initiative. This collaborative effort aims at guiding organisers in aligning with cultural norms and avoiding inadvertent dilution of our heritage," he added.

Meanwhile, Co-founder of Migration2Ghana, a platform and networking community, Kwame Opoku-Addo, who was also on the panel, said instead of policing event organisers, he urged key stakeholders to extend support to them and proposed a proactive strategy of giving them incentives to make the execution of the initiative smoother.

Mr Opoku-Addo held that by providing tangible benefits, event organisers would be more motivated to actively showcase the Ghanaian culture during December in GH festivities.

He specifically suggested that the Ghana Revenue Authority could consider offering intentional tax rebates to event organisers and encouraged other stakeholders to provide subsidies and grants to ensure they have the necessary resources to create culturally rich and impactful programmes for both Ghanaians and visitors.

"If we want to keep December in GH a globally acclaimed initiative, let's be intentional about it. Let's incentivise and encourage event organisers to play a vital role in projecting the Ghanaian culture. Policing them is not the solution; instead, providing incentives will yield more positive outcomes,” he added.