The Tourism Giant

Being the largest industry in the world it is not hard to imagine all the waste, pollution and social harm that can be done by tourism. Think about all the towels and sheets being laundered everyday at hotels, the water this uses and chemicals that are released in the water. Looking into the sky at the criss-cross of jet trials the amount of fuel and emissions from airlines in unfathomable. And the extra traffic from rental cars, airport shuttles and taxis, adds up and takes its toll.

Stay home?

A keen observer would note that the most environmentally responsible travel would be no travel at all and to stay at home. This may be true and especially with international travel. Stay-cations, bike trips, bus trips or more localized travel would be the most environmentally responsible. But there are some very important learning experiences and cross cultural exchange of dialog and learning that goes along with international travel that would be missed by not traveling anywhere; that is important to human development and even creating a better world and environment for future generations.

What can be done?

So other than walking on the next vacation what can be done to be a more responsible tourist? Below are a number of things you can do to be a more responsible tourist, in terms of the environment, conservation and social responsibility.

1. Research the Destination: learn about the environmental challenges they are facing, learn about the customs, and try to learn some of the basics of the local language

2. Enlist the help of a company: There are many companies out there that can help you plan your trip to be more responsible, or even connect you with the most responsible local tour companies, lodging providers and sites to visit.

3. Give feedback to lodging providers: Ask them what they do for the environment, let them know you appreciate it. Tell them that you do not need your sheets and towels washed every day.

4. Carbon Offset your vacation: There are a number of organizations out there that will let you offset the carbon generated from your trip.

5. Hold airlines accountable: Rather than just offset write to your favorite airlines telling them that you would love to see them reduce their emissions. Same can be done to your congressman about the airline companies.

6. Pack it in Pack it out: When visiting natural areas take all the trash out that you took in, and dispose of it responsibly.

7. Give back: Volunteer on your trip, and donate to the conservation areas that you visit that seem to be making a difference.

This red spiced rice looks something like Spanish rice but has a stronger flavor and is a bit Spicer. Most west African countries have a version of Jollof Rice so it may not be specifically Ghanaian. In Ghana it is usually eaten with fried plantains, a coleslaw type salad, shito or a tomato sauce, and a choice of meat. The meat is usually fish (tilapia), chicken (fried or broiled), or goat. You can enjoy this rice with pretty much any protein that you may choose to eat it with. Every person probably has a different way of making jollof rice but below we will give you a good recipe to get you started. Goes great with mushrooms, Chicken fried or grilled, beef or shrimp.

Here is a recipe for Jollof rice:

• 2 cups of uncooked rice

• 3 cups of water

• 2 cans of tomato Puree

• 6 table spoons of Olive oil

• 1 Large Red onion

• 2 small onions

• 2 Chopped Habanero Peppers

• 2 tomatoes

• 2 cubes of chicken bouillon

• 2 large carrots

• 1 red bell pepper

• 3 cups of Green cabbage shredded

• Pinch of Salt

• Pinch of pepper

• 1 tea spoon of cayenne pepper

Blend carrots, peppers, and 2 onions together in a food processor or blender and set aside in the fridge for later.

In a frying pan (or in a large pot) fry a sliced onion until soft and see through with the olive oil then add the tomato puree, continue cooking in pan for another 4-5 minutes.

Add the puree mixture along with the blended mixture from before to large pot and crumble the chicken bouillon cubes to it. Cook on medium until oil reaches the surface.

Add the rice and 2 cups water, stirring well; add another cup of water carrots and cabbage cook on low until most of the liquid has disappeared. Then cover and simmer on low until rice is soft. Serve with your protein and enjoy.

In February of this year Epic World Media received a contract and funds from USAID and a number of public and private sector partners like the Ghana Tourism Authority and many private company to promote Ghana.  The plan is to have a 30 minute promotional video and then a 30 second commercial to air in the US and Canada.  Like the video below they are taking a very wide approach to destination marketing, not focusing on any of the niches that Ghana offers as a travel destination.

Let me know what you think of this video.  I personally like the way it started but went downhill from there, for some reason it digressed into an urban party video.  Ghana has so much more to offer than that, it was sad that half the video focused on this.  I think that the Ecotourism market has more of potential to help to responsibly develop the country and the trickle down effect of funds will be more beneficial to more people than the type of tourism that was depicted in this video.

1. You will experience unique off the beaten path African travel, away from the touristy over visited Eastern African parks and attractions.

2. You can feel good about your vacation knowing that you money is going to the local people who need the support, and that real effort has been made to reduce the negative consequences of tourism in the destinations that you visit.

3. At least 75% of the cost of your trip will be spent in the country or countries you choose to take your trip.

4. We do not compete with local tourism providers, we find the best of these providers then evaluate them and partner with them to offer you our customers the best that there is to offer.  We then give you excellent customer service, a safe way to buy you tour, pre and post departure customer services, and we do not try to sell you something, we find the best option for what you want.

5. The vast majority of lodging providers, and service providers (be it tour guides, transportation, and activities) are evaluated for cleanliness, services, quality, environmental responsibility, and social responsibility.  Our high standards are used in every step of the decision making process and we have even developed a the Green Bug Adventures Ecotourism rating system to help communicate to you how these companies are meeting the standards.

6. Not only do we make sure the companies that we work with contribute to the communities that we work in, but we also contribute to the communities where we are based in the US.  This means that we contribute to conservation efforts in the US along with Africa and work with other community based initiatives through volunteering, Leif Ryman the owner has also volunteered a lot of time to projects that help to improve situations in Africa, and with African refugees living in the US.

7. While you are on vacation your fun and enjoyment is our number one concern.  You will not be overwhelmed with any sort of ideological agenda.  Our Ecotourism initiatives will be seamlessly worked into the most amazing experience of your life.

8. In addition to offering traditional carbon offsets for your vacation which have controversial effectiveness, we give you the option to donate the same amount of money that you would on a traditional offset to a conservation program or location of your choice that you visited during your trip.  We believe that global warming and CO2 reduction is important but we feel that the forests that already exist and contain the CO2 gasses are at great risk and need the help more than planting young forests that will not be as initially effective.

9. We believe that Africa’s number one resource is its people and culture followed by the nature and wildlife.  Taking this into account we provide a good balance between the two, and then the addition of adventure activities.

10. We take the time to pre-screen and prepare our travelers for their trip.  This makes sure that you are best matched to the best trip for you and that when you go you know what to expect and how minimize your impact.

The chorus goes like this if you could not hear it:

“Oyedieyie, with his sewing machine.

When he went around to sew.

When he shouted Oyedieyie, people start to laugh at him.”

The joke is that people may make fun of Oyedieyie, and laugh, but what they have to realize is that they fix all problems.  They are more important to society than they are given credit for.

A guide at Abanze beach Castle, another visitor got in trouble for sneaking in without a guide.

I am one of those very independent people that loves to find my own solutions to problems and navigate my own way through different situations and scenarios. Because of this I can very much understand the mentality of the independent traveler. Many people enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to navigate a new destination on their own. There is also this tendency to feel like you will look like a tourist or as someone who is not a seasoned traveler if you are traveling with a guide.

All of these reasons why people feel the need to travel independently along with the budget aspect of things makes so much sense for travelers to Europe or the US or other more developed travel destinations. Often these destinations have a lot of information available about them to traveler that can be researched before ever leaving home. Even more information is interpreted to visitors during their visit through written material, recordings or even videos in developed travel locations. This is not the case for Ghana or much of Africa.  For those of us that like the thrill of independence there are some very compelling reasons why traveling with a guide in Ghana or using a guide in different local areas is recommended.

Language

Edmond a local guide to the Cape Three Points Area

Traveling to many destinations in Europe and elsewhere travelers can expect to find one to three languages and take the necessary steps to deal with it. Either they will lean on a travel book to get them to and from where they need to be or they will go to sights and destinations that offer interpretive services in English or their language of choice.

Ghana is very different in this regard; luckily for the most part English can be used to get around. But when you get more and more rural this is not always the case. There are over 50 different local languages in Ghana, and sometimes a language that you might find in one village could be totally different in the next. There is also no clear information about where different languages will be found. There is no way that a guide can be found that speaks every language that you may run into in Ghana, but there are a few universal languages that the majority of Ghanaians speak that work in different areas of the country. For instance in the south and central parts of Ghana, Twi is pretty universally understood and used along with English. In the North Hausa or Gonja are two languages along with Twi that many people understand and speak. In the Volta region and eastern parts of the country Ewe is the primary language. Knowing this it is possible to find a guide that speaks good English, Twi, Ewe, and Hausa, which would cover most of the country.

Even though English is the official language of Ghana the understanding and spoken aspects of it are not always up to the level that will make it entirely easy to learn about what you would like to know. There are many conversations about culture, traditions and practices which would be very hard to have with the level of English that can be found in rural areas. A guide can always help to interpret these localized tidbits of information.  Using a local guide is also helpful in this area, they tend to have better English skills, and are practiced in showing people around their area.

Cultural

Yao, one of the guides that Green Bug Adventures works with, he is an expert on Accra.

Traditionally when you visit a rural community or village the first stop should be to the Chief to give respect and a gift and also to get permission to visit the village or the surrounding sites of interest. Many independent travelers have difficulty with this bit of formality, often they can be seen walking around an exploring an area without the prior permission. This is not always good because with many of these traditional systems there are sacred areas and places where people should not go without permission or a local guide. This automatically creates a rift between the visitors and the locals, and a feeling of a lack of respect for their beliefs and their sacred areas. A guide can be a big help when trying to navigate these traditional systems and requirements. They can also save you some additional expense and annoyance. Picking up a local guide at these areas will really help to explain the local beliefs and prevent people from wanting to latch onto you to be your guide because you already have one.

Safety

Unfortunately in some places in Ghana there have been some isolated issues with petty theft. Just like anywhere you visit in the world there are some places that are safe to go to anytime of the day or night, and there are places where this is not recommended. How are you going to know all of this? You will not, but if you are traveling with a guide or get a guide at the local destination you travel too, they will be able to advise you of this.

The guide will actually provide you with more safety than you would think, even though they may not be armed or look like they could not protect you from a fly. Just their presence is often a deterrent to would be opportunists. You may wonder why this would be when they would not be able to protect you anymore than you could protect yourself, it isn’t about what they are going to do. It is just that they are there and create their lively hood from tourism so it is in their best interest that their guests are safe and unharmed. As part of this if a guest was robbed under a local guides care, this would cause a huge issue in the community for the people that did the robbery. Because the guide is probably known in the community by a would be opportunist, travelers with the guide will not even be targeted because of the rift that this would cause in the community.

The biggest things that you can do to protect yourself from petty crime is not to make yourself a target. Being out or traveling after dark in certain places is not advisable which a guide can notify you of. Being alone, is another one or intoxicated, a guide will offer a deterrent in both of the situations to potential opportunists. Often a good guide could prevent possible situation by keeping their ears and eyes open for a potential issue. It has happened before where robbers will target a potential person and talk to their accomplices about it in the local language knowing the traveler will not understand, there has been situations where guides have heard this and understood the language preventing a potential robbery.

Nuisance factor

One of the major issues that individual travelers have with traveling in Ghana is the perceived nuisance factor. People wanting to be your guide or help you get from point A to point B for a tip. Or potential sexual advances by local males to female travelers. A guide will prevent both of these situations, why would you need a guide if you already have one? A guide will also often tell people to back off if they are giving sexual advances to a female. Unlike many more popular tourist destinations there is no clear cut guidance in books on how to find the correct tro-tro or bus, but your guide can help you with this or do the asking for you. Better directions will be given to the guide in this case then would be relayed to you.

You do not have to have a guide in Ghana to have a great time and get a feel for the country, but it will make things much easier, and even for those that like the challenge they will provide you with more information about the culture and how interactions need to happen. I am not the type that usually traveled with a guide but even when I was living in Ghana I usually traveled with a local friend for the above reasons.

If you choose not to get a guide for the whole trip that is fine, but guides should be used at local destinations so you do not offend the local traditions or trespass unknowingly into sacred or restricted areas. Local guides will also allow you to learn the most about each destination.

The expense of a guide is not that prohibitive in Ghana, and the money paid can help the economic situation of communities and the guide themselves tremendously. If visitors are seen as a benefit to the community because of these contributions, future travel for future visitors will be that much easier and more welcoming.