Cape Coast, March 30, GNA – A Professor of Tourism at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Eric Amuquandoh, has described as unacceptable the frequent occurrence of accidents at tourism sites in the country.
The situation, he said served as a disincentive for people to go for leisure although the country was making efforts to integrate leisure into its development plans in order to improve the quality of life of its citizens.
“Leisure patrons expect that the times they spend on leisure sites are enjoyable and problem free. Unfortunately the reverse is the case in Ghana. Often individuals do not return home and those who return, return with injuries or are psychological traumatised,” he said.
Subsequently, he has called on the Spatial Planning Authority and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to pay detailed attention to the engineering design and safety measures incorporated into leisure facilities to ensure the safety of patrons.
Prof Amuquandoh said instances such as the May 9, 2001 Accra Sport stadium disaster, drowning of people along the coast on public holidays, the collapse of the Bunnso canopy walkway, the Kintampo waterfall disaster among others must be a wakeup call for the country to do things right.
Delivering his inaugural lecture on the topic “Reflections on the leisure situation in Ghana” at UCC, he recommended to parliament to pass a law to make it mandatory for all leisure sites and commercial events to be covered by insurance.
He said despite the many benefits of leisure, the unsafe nature of the country’s leisure sites and the meaning assigned to leisure had made it difficult for Ghana to reap the full benefits associated with the leisure industry.
Prof Amuquandoh bemoaned the poor maintenance of the existing leisure facilities as well as the poor road network and called on the Government to ensure that the country’s leisure sites were connected with good roads and efficient means of transport.
He noted that young men and women were gradually being excluded from leisure participation due to unemployment and called on the Government and the private sector to create job avenues for the youth to enable them pay for their leisure.
He further admonished the Government to increase the budget allocation to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to enable them develop other sports and also maintain sport facilities which had become death traps.
Prof Amuquandoh said parents and leaders at all levels must be seen at the forefront of leisure participation in order to stimulate leisure interest in the youth.
He criticised the mindset of Ghanaians who consider leisure and sports as a waste of time and encouraged them to go back for the good leisure system embedded in their culture.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS