Concerns over safety of tourists
Visitor safety is an important issue in tourism circles all over the world and though the tourism industry here tries to offer a certain level of safety and security in the business, Mr Prince Eric Opare, the Tour Manager at Stellar Travel Limited, says more can be done at ensuring greater visitor safety.
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Speaking to The Mirror in the wake of the collapse of the Arboretum Canopy Walkway at Bonsu in the Eastern Region on July 1 in which 21 people were injured, Mr Opare, who has about 20 years’ experience in the tourism business, said lack of adequate safety and security impacted negatively on visitor numbers.
“We need to broaden our understanding of the subject and rope in all the elements that hinge on safety and security such as quality of roads, harassment of tourists at certain destinations, proper orientation for visitors and non-maintenance of facilities,” said Mr Opare who has travelled multiple times to nearly all the country’s major tourist attractions.
He cited the situation at Nzulezu in the Western Region, where water seeps into canoes and has to be constantly scooped when visitors are being ferried to the village.
“It is not a safe practice. People get scared sitting in the canoe and seeing it get filled with water. The last time I was there, the life jackets were dirty and worn out.
“Since the canoes are also not covered, visitors are always at the mercy of the weather for the about 45-minute trip. They get drenched when it rains and have no shelter when the sun is out and hot.”
Mr Opare touched on the quality of roads to tourist sites and said they must be given serious attention because of the importance of tourism to our economy.
“Despite the huge revenue that the Kakum Park, for instance, generates for the national coffers, the road leading to the place has been left to deteriorate over time and has become a disaster in waiting.”
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a body responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, has a tenet which tourist organisations worldwide seem to agree with. It says:
“Safety and security are vital to providing quality in tourism. More than any other economic activity, the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for visitors.”
In a chat with Mr Samson Donkor, the acting Deputy Executive Director (Finance and Administration) at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), he said his outfit was aware of all the safety and security measures that ought to pertain in the tourism business and they did their best to ensure that they were adhered to.
Referring specifically to the Bonsu incident, Mr Donkor said it was purely an accident.
“A tree branch fell and hit one of the walkways. The impact of the weight of the branch and the weight of those on the platform caused it to snap. As far as we can tell for now, it was not any human error and the incident is not likely to affect patronage of the Kakum walkway or any other tourist facility.”
According to Mr Donkor, a high-powered team from the GTA, as well as representatives from the Ghana Institution of Engineers have visited the Bonsu facility and the GTA was waiting for a report from the engineers for further action.
On whether the GTA sometimes receives reports from visitors about their safety, Mr Donkor said when such reports got to them, regional directors were asked to investigate and come up with measures for rectification.
He said the GTA was on top of its job and that owners of licensed facilities were periodically taken through various aspects of safety and security, adding that tour guides were expected to give proper orientation to visitors before taking them to tourist sites.
In relation to tour guides, PaJohn Dadson, a strong advocate of domestic tourism, mentioned that some of them knew the right history of destinations but sometimes lacked information on details such as proper attire, footwear and some dos and don’ts at specific sites.
Agreeing with PaJohn, Mr Opare said he had seen people wearing three-piece ‘agbada’ and others wearing flip flops on the Kakum walkway, which were all wrong things to wear for such an expedition.
He also commented on how visitors are sometimes harassed at certain locations to make purchases and said some tourists refused to go to some sites due to people holding and pulling them to buy stuff.
“If a visitor feels threatened or unsafe during a trip, this may impact on the length of stay and expenditure in a destination and decrease the likelihood of repeat visitation and word-of-mouth referrals,” Mr Opare stated.
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