5th Accra Weizo 2019 Tourism Fair: Over 70 foreign delegates confirm attendance

OVER 70 foreign delegates from Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Benin and Togo will Join Travel and Tourism players from Ghana at the 5th Accra Weizo 2019, the West Africa Tourism and Travel fair.

The Accra Weizo which organized in partnership with the Ghana Tourism Authority, GTA, will take place at the famous La Palm Royal Beach Hotel Accra Ghana from the 28th and 29th of June 2019. The 2019 edition of travel fair will also hold the Balafon awards to recognize travel professionals in the West Africa sub region.

African Travel Quarterly (ATQ) has released the list of winners of the prestigious Balafon Awards to be recognized at the annual West African tourism and travel fair, Accra Weizo. Balafon awards of Excellence is an annual Awards organized to recognize Pioneers and best players in the industry for the ECOWAS region.

The 5th accraweizo promises to be super exciting as participants taking part for the tour will be visiting some of the fascinating sites in Nzulezu. Nzulezu is a village built entirely on stilts on Lake Amansuri. It is constructed out of wood and raffia with one central walkway and to dozen houses on either side. The only way to get there is to travel 5km on the lake in a local canoe. The most striking feature that catches the eye at nzulezu is the wooden accommodation facilities hanging some five feet above the lake level. Visitors to the village are welcomed by the chief of the village.

Participants will also use the occasion the tour other Ghanaian tourist site which are known to most tourists. Last year, at the World Travel Market in London, Ghana Tourism Authority signed a 5 year MOU with the Organisers of Accra Weizo. The MOU is to Jointly Organise the Successful Expo with the owners Akwaaba Travel Market. Accra Weizo has been organized in Ghana for 4 years now and the 2019 edition is for June 28th and 29th.

Ghana is the leading Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination in West Africa and ranks Number One on ICCA ratings. Hosting Accra Weizo reinforces the positioning of Accra for MICE and Ghana for Tourism. According to a report by Ghana News Agency – The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) together with its stakeholders had earlier launched the 2019 edition of the Women in Tourism Summit and the Accra Weizo fair, in Accra.

The summit on the theme: “Empowering women in Ghana’s Tourism Industry” is scheduled for June 27, while the fair on the theme “seamless travel is West Africa” is scheduled for June 28th and June 29. Mr Isaac Adomako–Mensah, Deputy Executive Director, Finance and Administration, GTA, said both the summit and fair have become part of the major events to promote tourism in the country since their inception.

He said the fair was geared towards getting West Africans to cooperate with each other, and is aimed at creating a seamless travel environment in West Africa by bringing together travel professionals to Accra. He said the GTA would host delegates coming from nations in the East, West and Southern Africa at a three-day familiarization tour from June 25 till 27.

“The delegates will take a tour of the Greater Accra, Western and Central regions. Places of visit would include Nzulezu, Ankasa Conservation Area, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Secondi European Town, and the Cape Coast Castle.” Mr Isaac Adomako–Mensah noted that the tour programme drawn for them was in tandem with the Authority’s domestic tourism campaign of Eat, Feel, See, and Wear Ghana. Mr Isaac Adomako–Mensah congratulated the leaderships of both events, expressing the hope that both events in the long run would accelerate the development of tourism in Ghana and West Africa.

Mr Collins Udolu, Accra Weizor, said the fair had come this far after its inception five years ago, solely by the work of the dedicated team with support of stakeholders looking to enhance the business and tourism environment across Africa. He said the event has grown to become an event found in every arena of tour operations in West Africa, and has helped change the narrative of West Africa by collaborating and easing business in tourism and aviation “This year the event would have speakers from Ghana, Nigeria, Dubai, and Uganda.”