Jake and the tourism sector : A tribute by E.V. Hagan
Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey’s arrival at the Tourism Ministry as the Minister in 2003 marked the beginning of a unique chapter in the history of the tourism/ hospitality industry in the country.
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Tourism thrives on tangible and intangible products and the ability to handle these factors in a planned and organised manner determines to a very large extent the success or otherwise of a particular destination. Since there is a limit to space and time as far as this tribute is concerned, I will go straight to what products Jake pushed, when and how he pushed them during the period he acted as the leader of the sector.
Otanka was a dreamer and a seer with a very strong creative mind and style: he could literally turn dust into gold and make a monument out of nothing. These are attributes very much needed in tourism marketing
The Joseph Project
The presence in Ghana of UNESCO World Heritage Slave Castles sites gives us an unparallel advantage over other countries when the story of the Triangular Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is told. Jake decided to use this Unique Selling Point (USP) as a magnet to attract more of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora than the number of visitors we had hitherto been receiving. He decided to embellish and improve upon the product in various ways to make it attractive to the target market. The Joseph Project story was basically akin to the Biblical story of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his siblings only for him at a later stage to turn around and help these same brothers.
By Jake’s plan, we on the African continent were to receive our brothers and sisters back through Ghana as the hub – with all the anger and acrimony forgiven and forgotten. This was the guiding principle of the Joseph Project. Our brothers and sisters were to come back to Africa and help us to keep abreast of what is happening in the developed world. Very typical of Jake’s approach, a lot of consultations went on behind the scenes with identified stakeholders- the National House of Chiefs, MUSIGA, Academia, the Media, Diaspora Groups and a cross-section of the Ghanaian public. Contacts were made with Traditional leaders in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon (Bamenda), Angola.
Next, Jake organised a Conference of historian authorities from the local universities in Accra in May 2004 on the subject matter of the Slave Trade. When it was realised that a lot of interest and data on the subject was available to be tapped, the Minister decided to move a step higher by organising an International Conference on the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Accra in September 2004. This International Conference was such a huge success: participants came from Europe, The Americas, Africa, West Indies, etc. (Our own Minister of Education, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman and Professor James Anquandah presented papers).
Jake once again applied the master stroke when he decided to come out with a book that will contain these rare invaluable contributions that had come from far and near for the benefit of prosterity. With support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ghana, the book entitled “The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: Landmarks, Legacies and expectations” was published by Sub-Saharan Publishers in 2007.
Emancipation Day celebration
The Emancipation day celebration which had been started in Ghana in 1998 (After President Rawlings’ visit to Jamaica) was given a facelift and a new lease of life by Jake. He went to great lengths to add value to the programme. In fact, he wanted to make the Emancipation Day the jewel in the annual Diasporan activities in the country. A Reverential Park complete with all the basic receptive facilities expected at a decent tourism site, was put up at Assin Manso.
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Assin Manson was the last point of call for the Slaves before their final embarkation through the ‘’Door of No Return’’ to the New World, it also harbours the skeletal remains of Crystal and Carson that were brought over from Jamaica and USA and reburied in Ghana to symbolise the return to the motherland for our brothers and sisters from the Diaspora. A visit to Assin Manso offers a limitless sense of fulfillment virtually creating the feeling of coming back home to ones’s motherland. The effect Jake created here was so powerful that our Diasporan brothers and sisters who visit the site very often break down in tears of fulfillment and joy – a way for one to rediscover his/her roots and placate the soul.
Chocolates on Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day, in the past few years, has become such a phenomenal activity in Ghana, thanks to effective strategic marketing put out through the media strategy. For Jake, that was another opportunity to showcase Ghana in another form – a Tourist destination for the best chocolates in the World. He put out a concept that shifted the interest on Valentine’s Day from other things to chocolate as a gift of love. The first programme was at the Osu Children’s home where chocolates were distributed on Valentine’s Day to the unfortunate orphaned children of the establishment. The after effect of the new approach to Val’s Day was there for all to see. The average Ghanaian got introduced to chocolate made in Ghana from Ghana’s own first grade cocoa beans. The master planner did not stop at that but he invited a top chef from Belguim who came to impart his skills and knowledge in the area of the preparation of chocolate food items to the members of the Chefs Circle of Ghana. This led to the introduction of chocolate-based food offers on the menu cards and in the hotel and restaurant in the country.
Otanka kept saying to us: “keep it simple. If you fail to plan you plan to fail”.
The writer is UNWTO trained official; Past Executive Governing Council member of CIMG; Tourism/Hospitality/Marketing Practitioner/part-time Tutor; retired Public/Civil Servant
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