Maame Akua Awereba writes: 'Year of Return', were we ready?

Last week on Facebook, Gabby Otchere-Darko was giving some persons credit for the Year of Return planning and its supposed success.

But here is one poor report; there is one other we have published here on Ghanaweb by Isaac Ato Mensah of writersghana.com titled "What Jacqueline Woodson did not tell you".

Akwasi Agyemang, the Ghana Tourism Authority CEO and Barbara Oteng Gyasi, the minister for Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture have said nothing so far. They are hoping the matter will die naturally and they will keep their jobs.

Maame Akua Awereba writes:

I’m shocked that people are not talking about the flaws this year of return had. Aside from the fact that we were (as usual) unprepared for the sheer numbers of people who were coming in from the get-go, is nobody going to talk about the thousands of people who have been stranded in the past week because as usual Ghanaians love to be perceived as “killing it” while under the water we are paddling like hell not to drown and failing miserably?

So sure.....loads of celebrities with resources have been in town. Lots of people, around the [C]antonment, Labone, Osu, Airport, East Legon, Dzorwulu, La area as well. Most of the people coming in were regular folks. Coming into this place marketed as a home for the African diaspora to feel welcome in. Let me tell you my challenge the past week with my concierge company. Many came in and found out at the airport that hotels/Air BnB/apartment bookings had been given to people with cash.

Imagine coming into a country you don’t know, with friends who don’t know the country either and being told that the place you booked months back has been given to someone who came into the country before you and paid cash. Not knowing the layout of the city, not having a place to put your stuff, not knowing anything about the place you’ve come to. As someone with a real estate and hospitality company, I know that most of these establishments put their places on websites like Booking com, Air BnB, Expedia etc.

Anyone using these platforms knows that to make sure everyone is safe, no money changes hands before the guest checks in. However most of the time the platform would debit the money from the person booking the accommodation. Then when they check-in, the money is paid to the establishment. We’ve known for a year that these people were coming in. Those hotels had been booked online, that they would be here and that they’ve been booked and full up since June. Why did so many people managing these organizations not factor in their need for hard cash?

Why did they put their places upon platforms they knew they wouldn’t get cash from immediately and not even bother to inform people that their rooms had been given away? And then you have the landlords who completely exploited the guests. Charging $375 for a place with no WiFi, no security, no toiletries, nothing. I’ve had clients in the past week who experienced panic attacks from finding out they were stranded in a country they didn’t know with anywhere to sleep, asthma attacks (from the dust in rooms charged horribly over the going rate) I’ve had clients stranded at the airport for 7 hours and my company was called to step in and resolve those issues.

People have had to sleep on couches, airport chairs, in rental cars, etc when they booked rooms and apartments months prior for thousands of dollars for a specific period. And it’s not just me. So many other people have had to go above and beyond for stranded folks coming into the country because we marketed this year of return without making sure the infrastructure was there to accommodate the numbers coming in.

Look, it’s one thing to say you’re ready for millions of people making your country a tourist destination, and it’s another thing to actually BE ready for the people coming in. What I’ve gathered is that Accra doesn’t have the hospitality industry set up well enough for these numbers.

How many 3/4/5 star hotels do we even have?

How many well-run establishments are there?

What’s the level of education on how simple apps like booking, Expedia, Air BnB work?

Because you know what? This part is the part that bothered me the most.

We all travel. If the Hilton messes up your booking like that anywhere else in the world, they’ll give you complimentary accommodation. And you won’t be forced to pay for another place that’s even higher than your initial budget because guess what people?? Abrokyire people also have budgets. Contrary to popular opinion, they too save up for holidays. The money isn’t just sitting there waiting to be spent. A lot of these people just got here to be told there was no space and then they were forced to pay more than they had budgeted to greedy landlords who knew their places were way too expensive for the abysmal accommodation they were providing.

Who runs an Air BnB without WiFi in 2019?

Who doesn’t so much as dust the place? It’s ridiculous! You’re charging more than a 4-star hotel and you don’t even have complimentary water in the apartment? No toilet roll? Nothing? How Ghana, how?

It’s been a hell of a week.

I’ve been swamped because of the lack of proper planning for this year of return. And I know I’m going to get some weirdos who haven’t read a history book before or travelled before who will say “Well it’s not the government's fault ” Well, here’s the thing: this initiative was a government one. They knew that the hotels had been booked full since the middle of the 3rd quarter. They knew private citizens would step in to fill the void with accommodation. Government should have factored in proper world-class industry standards for its hospitality industry before telling everyone they could come to a country that doesn't understand the integrity of an assured hotel booking!

This should never happen to people again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place with the right planning, but to let it happen again would be a complete travesty!