Coronavirus forced countries to engage in tourism partnerships – Expert

The Chief Executive Officer of African Tourism Partners, Kwakye Donkor, has said that COVID-19 has in a way reinforced partnership among countries to achieve an objective.

Speaking in an interview with 3FM on Sunday, September 27 in relation to World Tourism Day, Mr Kwakye explained that visa fees in some countries, if not reduced, will make traveling to these countries difficult for travelers.

“I will say that COVID is bringing the positive side of countries working together, and when countries start working together a lot of these issues that we have and their impact will be minimized.

“That is extremely critical I think. I have said that a couple of times. I spoke about collaboration and collaboration or partnership is not just about the tourism sector.

“There are two levels, one of them is within the country. The private sector, the authority and the industry trying to work together because, for instance, if Ghana Tourism Authority is working with MTN and making sure that there are campaigns run with MTN and MTN has got a huge database and working with someone like the insurance company, I think a lot can be achieved. That’s one part.”

September 27 of every year is celebrated around the world as World Tourism Day and as part of the Day’s celebration, 3FM put together a forum themed ‘Tourism And Rural Development’ and the topic for discussion was ‘Restart of Tourism, The Hope, The Prospects and The Challenges’.

Speakers included Elcia Grandcourt, Director of African Region UNWTO, Akwesi Agyemang, CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority, Mona Boy, CEO Lands tour, Kwakye Donkor, CEO African Tourism Partners, Marina Norvelii, Professor at Tourism and International Development University of Brighton, UK, and Sonto Ndlovu.

There were lengthy conversations on re-opening of borders in some African countries.