The Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) has held the 8th edition of Destination Legon themed, “Tourism and Hospitality Futures: Our Experiences of Tomorrow.”.
The event, which was part of the Management Week celebration of the Business School, is an initiative that challenges students to market tourism in Ghana through group pitches.
In his welcome address, Professor Justice Bawole, Dean of UGBS, encouraged students to go beyond conceptualising their projects and taking steps to operationalize them, in order to contribute to the development of Ghana's tourism industry. He noted that, in recent years, a number of students have developed exceptional marketing products aimed at the tourism sector which earned them awards in countries such as Rwanda and South Africa.
UGBS Dean, Prof. Justice Bawole
He was hopeful that students would achieve similar successes this year, and urged them to bring their pitches to life. Prof. Bawole also emphasised the importance of industry support for the project. He believed Destination Legon would play a vital role in nurturing future leaders in the tourism sector and called on the tourism industry to provide special grooming and guidance to the students.
The UGBS Dean expressed his excitement about the presence of Mr. Akwasi Agyeman, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, as the Guest of Honor, and highlighted the need for increased industry support and participation.
Guest of Honor Mr. Akwasi Agyeman, in his address, emphasised the need to balance technology and human hospitality to maximise the potential of Ghana's tourism industry. He acknowledged that technology could enable advancements, but should not diminish the warmth and hospitality that Ghana is known for.
CEO, Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr. Akwasi Agyeman
Mr. Agyeman pledged the support of the Ghana Tourism Authority in making Destination Legon an industry event and encouraged collaboration between the University of Ghana Business School and the tourism industry to enhance the project's impact. He urged the Business School to take ownership of the program and work towards producing business leaders who could significantly impact the industry.
Distinguished guests in attendance of the event included, Professor Rosina Kyeremanteng, Dean of Student Affairs; Professor Tweneboa Kodua; Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyameke, President of the Hotels Association of Ghana; Professor Gabriel Eshun, Technical Advisor for the Ghana Tourism Development Project; Kojo Dougan, Digital Finance expert; Pamela Milad Chahine, Miss Teen Lebanon 2023; and Petra Adjei-Kumi, Miss Teen Tourism Earth Ghana 2023.
An exhibition was mounted as part of the programme, where students showcased their ideas on the tourism sector to the industry players present. There was also a tour of the UG campus by some 110 students drawn from PRESEC, Achimota School, Wesley Girls High School, Savanna International Academy, Tamale, and Holy Child School.
Prof. Kobby Mensah, the brain behind the initiative, indicated that, “the idea was to look at the many ways to enhance the tourism experiences of tourists when they come to the country, especially by introducing technology. This means we are obviously leveraging artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, QR coding.”
He revealed that the initiative has successfully enticed students to consider tourism and hospitality as a career choice, leading to innovations like the virtual tourism space in Ghana, but called for ongoing funding to alleviate costs for students during project execution.
Prof. Mensah took the opportunity to express gratitude to the leadership of the Business School and the Management of the University for their continuous support over the past 7 editions.
