When I first described South Africa as the masters of tourism in Africa during ATTWON’s celebration of World Tourism Day 2018, many did not like that at all, but it is the truth. I advised that we invite them to help us with how to rightly tap into the use of our tourism offerings, I implored that we ask the Nigerian government to look to South Africa and on the strength of the diplomatic relationship we have, establish the possibilities of toeing the same vein with them on their success…but I spoke to the air and not human beings.
From their body language I could see the Nigerian-ego, saying how can we a whole Nigeria ask South Africa for help on tourism? I sat back down with a big sad realisation that we are not ready to embrace tourism. Mandela’s move to stop the whites that were leaving South Africa is what made the nation what it is today. Why didn’t he say how can I beg them to stay? What if he had allow them to go? What would South Africa be like today?
Fast forward to 2020, when the South African government under the leadership of Ramaphosa appointed our very own Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to help them with their economy, I said to myself, That is a government without a how-can-a-whole-South Africa-appoint-a-Nigerian-into-our-political-terrain ego. Like Mandela, Ramaphosa seeked for a valid help.
At the 2018 Lagos Tourism summit, Nigeria could not give detailed fact on its tourism opportunities to follow through with the beautiful title of a documentary “Tourism is the New Oil”. But erstwhile President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama pitched his country’s tourism interest to attendees with the tourism offerings of the Gold Coast with an adventure-like paper that he delivered so well. Nigeria, the host of the summit, could not properly present its tourism potentials or interest to attendees.
The simple reason is, it was presented by the wrong person who has no passion for what he was presenting let alone being in the know of the fruition of embracing that which he has no passion for. Shame. There is only one cogent, true and passionate evangelist of tourism in Nigeria and she is Mrs Omotayo Omotosho (MFR) who took Nigeria’s tourism sector out of that suffrage-era and has been evangelising and promoting tourism since then.
Mrs Omotayo Omotosho (MFR)
There are those who gallivant around as such but are just not it because they are business-driven and not passion-driven tourism personage like Omotosho who is identified in Nigeria as Madam Tourism. Yes the business of tourism is the most prosperous in the world but it must be chiefly fueled by passion. South Africa’s immeasurable success of tourism in Africa today is their eminent passion for it. They love tourism. It is what they breathe. You can only prosper with what you love. God prospered and is still prospering with creating one man, Adam. We are all a fruition of God’s passion. What he loves.
Tourism cannot prosper with a business-first orientation. That is one of the areas Nigeria is getting it all wrong. Tourism can only prosper with a hospitality-first orientation because hospitality is what? Love. Passion beggets it and this is why South Africa is getting it so right with tourism.
Tourism is a forest with so many kinds of trees and hospitality which South Africa know the onions better than anyone in the continent, is one of those trees and this tree has given so much to the Rainbow nation’s Gross Domestic Product. But South Africa’s success with tourism has ignited another African nation into embracing tourism in itself chiefly. Very chiefly.
Ghana, a beautiful land of gold, culture, rhythm and warmth is the nation. The Gold Coast as it is formerly called, launched an initiative called Year of Return which was a tourism adventure with plenteous attractions.
Is there a possibility that the Year of Return will give Ghana tourism way much more than what hospitality has given to the Rainbow nation? Does South Africa in their tourism mightiness have an initiative likened to that of this very Year of Return that is also a tree in the forest?
Well, not just any tree but the palm tree. What the palm tree is to man, is what the Year of Return is or will be to Ghana. It is an initiative that evidences a country having a government. Because a country with no cardinal initiative to promote its low hanging fruits for exploration, is a country with no government. Ghana’s tourism offerings will no longer sit barren like they used to before the advent of this initiative.
To know more about this tourism initiative, Godfrey Times Travel spoke with Lillian Sally Addo, CEO Creative Group who said:
Lillian Sally Addo, CEO Creative Group
The year of return was an initiative by President Akufo-Addo. The whole thing started from the beginning of the year but they had an introduction where the President and some committees traveled overseas, they formed a committee with the Ghana Tourism Authority.
Actually the Ghana Tourism Authority and the diaspora department (which was created by the President) at the Jubilee house formed the board or a committee that supervise the entire process. The peak of the event was in December (in the middle of the year we had lots of them coming to survey and all that) but the peak was in November and December when we had lots of people in the country and it really helped our economy around that time. The good thing is that, this year, we had wanted to celebrate Beyond the Return where people who came discovered they want to make investments, those who want to have residence here, the conditions that the President has put in place and all that.
So Beyond the Return is supposed to look at that…those that have interest with buying lands, what kind of waivers the government is ensuring that they get? Those that want to set up businesses, they are getting their duty waivers and all that. A lot of things went into play to motivate most of our people in the diaspora to return home. It was a good initiative, people hear about Africa, I believe that the outside world is still judging Africa by the past. Africa is being judged by books but not the current reality situation. So if all Presidents or African leaders will embark on this initiative it will be very good. So that people will now get up and not read old books but come to the continent of Africa and see what we have, network and dialogue with our own people.
People think that when you come to Africa we discriminate but most of them who came can testify how warm Ghanaians are and how they felt like making this place their home. Some have gone ahead to buy acres of lands, they are coming back to build factories, theatre halls and all that.
So it was a good thing, for some us, our brothers who are in the country, who have never had the opportunity to travel, they had the opportunity to network with these people and then it is all part of the cultural exchange…and cultural exchange is not only going to overseas to network with other people but when they come to you is the same opportunity. So I think that it should be continued and other African countries should emulate the same thing and then who knows? eventually we can start doing the year of return for Africa where we encourage a lot of people to come back to Africa.
In 2019, the President of Ghana greeted over 250 African-Americans who traveled with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) and Derrick Johnson, President & CEO, NAACP to Ghana, according to a post on the Year of Return’s Instagram page.
The late John Lewis, who was a civil rights icon, Nancy Pelosi with the Congressional Black Caucus visited Ghana to celebrate the Year of Return where Pelosi addressed the Ghanaian Parliament with a message of respect and reaffirming the US commitment to security, freedom and justice for all, according to a post on her Instagram page.
Pelosi who is now the first Speaker of the House of representatives to address the Ghanaian parliament, upped her exploration with a visit to the slave dungeons where enslaved Africans were held in Elmina castles, in the Cape Coast region of Ghana.
Lest I forget, Ludacris, an American rapper visited Ghana for the Year of Return celebrations and do you know that the biggest number one game show in America is now on the continent of Africa? Plenty thanks to the Year of Return initiative which had Potomanto Festival, The Panafest, Countdown Africa, Afrochella, Fashion Connect Africa 2019, The Black Gala, The Waakye Summit, Diaspora Design, Afronationghana, Azuma Nelson Fight, Afrochic Global, The Return Concert et al as attractions for everyone to explore.
Godfrey Times Travel gathered that the Year of Return was actually marking the 400th year anniversary of the first documented ship of enslaved Africans who arrived in Virginia and that happened on August 20th, 1619. So that means that the year 2019 was the 400th year anniversary so the year of 2019 was dedicated to commemorate that anniversary…that means that Year of Return was not an annual event. It is not something that happens every year.
YOR was indeed an opportunity to boost tourism and in the response that the organizers received from the people and the numbers of people who had an interesting Year of Return, there was a lot of feedback that the YOR team received from travelers, from people in the diaspora who came to Ghana during the Year of Return and participated in activities. As a result, the decision was made to do Beyond the Return which is a follow up to Year of Return.
Beyond the Return is a 10-year initiative and the theme is a decade of African Renaissance. And its foundation is built on 7 pillars namely:
- Experience Ghana
- Invest in Ghana
- Diaspora Pathways to Ghana
- Celebrate Ghana
- Brand Ghana
- Give Back to Ghana
- Promote Pan-African Heritage and Innovation
and was unveiled on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. You could know more about the Beyond the Return by visiting https://beyondthereturngh.com/ .
If a one year initiative could record great success of tourism visits by dignitaries in the political spheres, celebrities in the entertainment industry, business executives, sports icons and many more for posterity…can you imagine what the fruition of this a decade initiative would be?
