Abeiku Santana Determined To Make Public Transport Relevant

Abeiku Aggrey Santana, a Tourism Ambassador, has pledged to use public transport as his focal point in the development of tourism in the country.

According to him, transport is a fundamental component of the tourism industry. It is a precondition for travel, because it facilitates mobility and the movement of tourists from their places of origin to tourist destinations; within and between tourist destinations; and later on back to their places of origin

As the matter of fact, it is difficult to think of the tourism sector without transportation. Transportation is the main means to carry passengers, that is, the tourists to the actual site where tourism services are performed.

Mr. Santana, a presenter on Accra –based okay FM, announced this initiative as part of his plans for the development of the tourism sector.

The vehicle population ratio in Ghana, has been growing steadily from 31 vehicles per 1000 population in 2002, to about 57 vehicles per 1,000
populations in 2011. It is estimated that, Accra has the highest number of registered vehicles of 605,739, followed by Tema 256,956 and Kumasi 200,116 as at March 2012.

Total number of registered vehicle population in Ghana as at March 2012, stood at approximately 1,425,900 of which 35 percent are commercial vehicles of 2000 which are mostly Taxis and has been increasing steadily making the number of registered taxies in the country a little over 500 thousand taxies in the country.

“We believe Taxi drivers are the first envoys of every destination and they must be aware of the unique attractions in the various communities and guide tourists to such destinations. They must be engaged, informed and trained to be ambassadors as they are in many instances the first point of call for foreigners and tourists on currency exchange, food, shopping, hangouts and more”.

This would require taxi drivers to demonstrate their knowledge of the location of, and directions to, major attractions, landmarks and tourist precincts in the country – essential knowledge to ensure a positive travelling experience for visitors.