Development is a dynamic process where a single factor cannot be given the whole credit. The exemplary story of tourism development in Accra is a classic example where we can find a bundle of connected elements working for promotion of the sector. According to available statistics of Ghana Tourist Board, the sector earned over 2 billion dollars in 2011, 1.61 billion dollars in 2009 and 1.40 billion in the year 2008. In addition to this, the number of tourists has also increased significantly. Over 0.8 million tourists arrived at the end of 2009, while their number crossed one million mark in 2011.
The story does not end here. The most important element that made the revenue soar higher is increasing percentage of business tourists coming to the city. 3 years back, out of total number of tourists, 23% were business people, while in 2010 and 11; the percentage has increased by 10 percent. There are many factors that played their role in the development of the tourism industry in Ghana. Here is a brief analysis of few important factors that played vital role in making sector lucrative for local and international tourists.
1- The most important factor that drove tourists to the city is peace and stability of the region in the recent past. No doubt, the country was one of the most beautiful places even one decade ago, yet the disturbing peace and deteriorating law and order situation crippled its ability to reach out international tourists.
2- Secondly, the government’s dedicated efforts to promote tourism sector have been quite fruitful. Establishment of Ghana Tourist Board was a right step in that direction and it helped country improve its international outlook and perception.
3- Tertiary, the rising number of tourists attracted airlines and tour operators in the country that started offering cheap flights to Accra and other cities. This led to growth in the competition and availability of low-cost and reliable services to local and international tourists.
4- A very important perspective that we can’t ignore is infrastructure development by the government. Few years back, you could hardly find any lucrative place to visit the city. However today, you find dozens of places across Accra, which attract visitors for their grandeur’s, beauty and landscapes.
How to Find Cheap Flights to Ghana?
As it has been noted earlier, the number of airlines operating to Ghana has increased over the years. This has led to a healthy competition in the industry and promoted the country’s tourism internationally. Therefore, availability of cheap flights and wider options for the tourists has increased the prospects of future growth in the tourism sector of Ghana. For the tourists based in United Kingdom, there are also many options of low-cost flights to Ghana.
Though almost every professional travel agency offers flights to various cities of the country but there are certain African specialist agencies that offer even more low-priced flights. CheapFlights-Harare, Reliance Travels UK, SkyScanner, TripAdvisor are few leading names that fall in this category. The good thing about electronic reservation and booking service is ease of access and decision-making. You can open different agencies pages in multi-tab browsers and compare the price plans. This helps in making the most economical decision that suits your budget and requirements of the trip. Additionally, the cost of trip is not restricted to airlines’ tickets; instead, your local travel expenses and selection of service price plans has a great impact on your overall budget.
The above given analysis further endorses my views that not a single factor can be credited to the development; instead, it is a combination of factors that leads to the development of economy and its sub-parts. However, the tourism sector is undoubtedly indebted to the handsome competition in aviation industry. Owing to the rivalry among more than 90 airlines, the cost of travelling to Africa in general and Ghana in particular has come down. From customers’ perspective, this element played the most important role in industry’s development because it increased the purchasing power of people who aspired to visit Accra, Ghana.
Source by Lucas Dylan
