Landtours Ghana, a West African premier adventure travel company, has commissioned two new luxurious coaches to promote tourism in Ghana.
The commissioning of the buses in Accra on Wednesday February 7, 2024, coincided with the company’s 30th anniversary celebration.
Commending Landtours Ghana for achieving such feat, the deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Ben Anane-Nsia noted that Ghana is aiming at doubling the number of tourist arrivals from a million to two million in 2026.
In the grand scheme of things, we envisage about 2 million tourist arrivals in 2026 from the current figure of about a million and businesses like Landtours has a role to play in making sure that it happens,” he added.
He noted that GTA has been deliberate in promoting domestic tourism because it is more resilient and encourages community development by providing opportunities for locals to showcase their culture, heritage and generate revenue.
He added that there is a conscious and deliberate effort from the government to make tourism experience more affordable, adding that “Hotels and other stakeholders are being encouraged to consider discount and other service packages to groups and corporate tourists as a means to boost interest.”
He added that the government is also improving road infrastructure connecting to most of the tourist sites to improve the experience.
Hostels in the country are also being licensed; this will help to upgrade the accommodation experience for all levels of tourists.” He observed.
The Chief Executive of Landtours Ghana, Mawuli Dzebu, who was excited about the future of tourism in Ghana noted that there is a lot of opportunities within the sector.
The CEO urged the government to reconsider the cost of doing business in the sector in order for the country to stay competitive.
Dzebu explained that some countries including Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire are implementing visa free policies but for Ghana, a tourist needs acquire a USD100 visa before visiting the country.
We need to look at those opportunities and see how we can be competitive in such areas,” he advised.
The company, which has footprints in five West African countries, is however worried about happenings in the region especially with the recent unrest in Senegal.
The CEO explained some tourists who do not appreciate the geographical location of Ghana from Senegal may avoid Ghana or the entire West African sub-region just because of the unrest in a country within the sub-region.
Tourism cannot do well if there is no peace and stability in the sub-region,” he warned.
The Founder of Landtours Ghana, Mona Boyd, mentioned that she started the business to provide quality services to the American diaspora, adding that “what put us on the map was when we handled President Clinton’s visit to Ghana.
With its tag line “We make you love Africa”, Boyd said the company plans have representation in all the countries on the African continent.