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The Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) has developed two web-based platforms to open up tourist sites and products to both local and international visitors.
The platforms — Ghana Tourism Market Place (GTMP) and the Ghana Tourism Investment Platform (GTiP) — seek to bridge the gap between local service providers and tourists.
On the GTMP platform, both local and international tourists can book accommodation, tours and museums; rent cars, restaurants, or buy artworks from the comfort of their home.
All licensed service providers in the sector get to log on to the platform, market their products, and in return, get instant payouts when the tourists book them on the website.
The GTiP platform, on the other hand, provides the public with the opportunity to upload potential tourist sites for potential investors to take them up.
Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) would be given access to profile key tourist sites and attractions, detailing their infrastructure, distance to the site and topography, among others, for investor consumption.The demo pages of the platforms were unveiled to sector players, including the Ghana Hotels Association, Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), tour guides and hotel operators, among others, in a stakeholder engagement in Accra yesterday.
The Chief Executive Officer of the GTDC, Professor Kobby Mensah, explained that the plan to develop the web-based solutions began in February.
He added that the new marketing approaches were meant to stimulate regional competition and generate the needed investments for the sector.
The investment platforms, he said, formed part of the government’s effort to decentralise tourism to ensure that it benefited local economies.
He announced that the platforms would go live in the next two to three weeks after broader stakeholder consultations.
The launch of the platform, Prof. Mensah said, was not to compete with the private sector, but to provide an avenue for them to grow.
“We are not in competition with the private sector; we are only helping them to make money,” he said.
The President of GHATOF, Charles Adu-Gyamfi, described the development of the platforms as not only timely, but strategic and vital for the sector.
Describing the sector as the greatest asset holding enormous potential to drive national development and position Ghana as a preferred destination, he said it was important to embrace new systems and innovative programmes that aligned with the needs of both the global and local industry.
As a result, he said, the platforms would help to attract the needed investments for the private sector to scale up their businesses, improve infrastructure and expand growth opportunities.
“These initiatives are not just projects of the GTDC, but shared opportunities that demand the participation, commitment and ownership of every stakeholder in our ecosystem-- government, private sector, communities and international partners,” he said.
His outfit, Mr Adu-Gyamfi said, was ready to lend its full support for a successful implementation.
“Let’s engage openly, collaborate sincerely and commit fully to this vision to build a sector that not only contributes significantly to Ghana’s economy, but reflects our heritage, creativity and hospitality to the world,” he said.
The President of the Ghana Hotels Association, Edward Ackah Nyameke, said the initiatives would help to drive more tourists and help members of the association to get more customers.
