• Members of TOUGHA
The Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA) has successfully embarked on a week-long familiarization tour of the Northern Ghana.
The trip dubbed, “Journey to the North” took participants to all the five regions of upper Ghana; Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper West and Upper East.
As has been the tradition with TOUGHA, the Journey to the North was to afford members the chance to acquaint themselves with sites and attractions in the area to help them in planning tour packages for clients.
The tour, which commenced from July 24 – July 30 proceeded with a stopover at the Kintampo Waterfall in the Bono East Region then to Tamale for a scenic tour of the Northern Regional capital.
They also went to the Paga Crocodile Pond, Navrongo Cathedral of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows (the oldest Cathedral in Northern Ghana) and the Pikworo Slave Camp rounded the tour of the Upper East Region.
The group visited the Ndewura Jakpa Palace in Damango and also toured the Mole National Park, Larabanga Mosque and Mystic Stone to round up the tour of the Savannah Region.
From there, they embarked on water safari on the Black Volta which houses the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary, visited the Baobab Tree House at Busa and were given a royal treat at the Wa Naa’s Palace in the heart of the regional capital where they were granted audience with the Overlord, Naa Seidu Pelpuo IV.
While at Wechiau, a delegation led by the President, Mrs. Alisa Osei-Asamoah made a donation to the Talawona community with items consisting of clothing, assorted drinks and undisclosed amount of cash.
Capping off the tour was a night stay at the new Royal Cosy Hills Hotel in Jirapa where the touring entourage toured facilities and went on a safarithrough its private wildlife park and quad biking.
Mrs. Osei-Asamoah who led the group of over 30 tourists said the tour came at a time when operators are seeking to diversify packages to give clients more exciting choices and experiences.
According to her, the other good thing about the trip was that, they were able to negotiate with businesses within the tourism value chain, such as hotels and tourists’ sites to give operators competitive rates to convince more people to travel and discover all the amazing attractions in these parts of Ghana.
Mrs. Alisa Osei-Asamoah further noted thatthe group will submit a comprehensive report to the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) especially on some of the challenges that need immediate attention.
TOUGHA’s Journey to the North was supported by Ecobank and Special Ice.