It’s been almost a century since a total
eclipse of the sun occurred in Ghana, this
celestial event last occurred in 1911. It
is natural phenomenon and a rare occurrence,
on the average it occurs once every 410 years
or so in any particular place. For the Earth
as a whole, total solar eclipses occur roughly
seven or eight times every ten years.
As we live through the few minutes of this
never to be forgotten event on March 29, tour
operators, hotels, airlines and others in
the hospitality business have offered the
event as a “golden experience”
and an opportunity to people the world over
to witness this once in a life time occurrence.
Adventurers, social researchers and commentators,
writers, professional photographers, film
producers and astronomers to mention a few
“thinkers and great minds” have
been in the country for over a week looking
for receptive communities, excellent bases
and sceneries to make the experience more
exciting and worth capturing the second by
second moments at first hand and on all kinds
of digital gadgets for posterity.
In the past, countries that experience such
events have used the momentous occasion of
the solar eclipse to bring attention to themselves
and resource potentials that make them economically
competitive and set apart for success. Ghana
aptly described as the “warmth of Africa”,
because of our proverbial hospitality, could
have probably hyped this as a major international
event for all the gains. It is for this reason
that the Ghana Association of Travel and Tourists
Agents (GATTA) on the occasion of the solar
eclipse wish to be emphatic on Ghana’s
tourism endowment as a pot of untapped gold.
The tourism industry is arguably the sector
that can set Ghana’s economic growth
on a serious footing to becoming a middle
level country. It is an economic activity
that can be sustained and nurtured to grow
with available local human and material resources
to compete with the rest of the world and
can spread its economic benefits to every
village.
It is in view of this assertion that GATTA,
which was founded in 1957 and currently with
a membership of 180 Travel and Tourism businesses,
will be launching “THE GOLDEN FACE OF
GHANA” - a unique tourism product development
and promotional initiative aimed to promote
safe and responsible domestic and international
tourism in Ghana. GATTA will be celebrating
its Golden Anniversary with the nation in
2007 and wish to seek public and private sector,
local and international partnerships to develop
the “THE GOLDEN FACE OF GHANA”
a project to primarily increase opportunities
for wealth creation in tourism host communities
around the country.
GATTA intends to select a number of tourism
sites, events and other products that are
expressed in the diversity of Ghana’s
living cultures, rich history and the natural
environment and facilitate their development
and promotion for an initial period of two
years to the highest possible standard for
safe and responsible international tourism
as “The Golden Face of Ghana’s
Tourism”.
The site or event must have the elements
of the arts, crafts, dance, music, architecture,
clothing and cuisine. It may be sites steeped
in the history of European exploratory trade
and missionary work, the Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade and colonization as the Gold
Coast, the contemporary history of our independence
struggles and self-government, the unique
flora and fauna, landforms and scenic features
of our beautiful land.
“The Golden Face of Ghana”
Project will be financed by fund raising
and contributions of partners in cash and
kind through various mechanisms including
the following: “Travel Ghana Raffle”,
Tourism Trade Partners Endowment Fund, Donor
Community Assistance, Corporate Sponsorships
and Media Partnerships
“The Travel Ghana Raffle” is
a “win-win” international raffle
and a unique tourism promotional campaign
for Ghana, which is primarily, targeted
at Ghanaians living abroad, their workplace
colleagues and friends. It is to give a
life time opportunities for people across
the globe to visit Ghana for a “Golden
Experience” while they contribute
to preservation and adaptive uses of our
universally acknowledged historic and cultural
and natural heritage sites of a great African
nation that was at the center of world trade
between the 15th and 19th centuries and
the unfortunate Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
and European exploration.
Every Ghanaian, young and old home and
abroad should be reminded that on this day
of the solar eclipse, we resolved to open
up our “pot of gold”
given freely by God for the benefit of the
underprivileged in society and future generations.
WATCH THIS SPACE!!
Ghana Association of Travel and Tourists
Agents (GATTA) P.O. Box 7140, Accra North
No.9 Swan Groove St Asylum Down, Accra
gattagh@yahoo.com
Website: www.gattagh.com
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