Bentsifi’s Tattle…Guy about town
Bentsifi’s Tattle…Guy about town
Of life experienced by water and a festive canoe spectacle set for Volta’s Keta Easter weekend
I’ve learned that a strong tourism product is the one that emerges when a community structures what is already meaningful to them and makes it legible, accessible, and valuable to outsiders, without losing its core.
When I heard about this regatta taking place in the Volta coast, I was super thrilled. The intrigue was more to do with how, in the perpetual diatribe of “tourism potential” and “tourism infrastructure”, a community looked within and converted a common behaviour into something spectacular that potentially, would draw people to their vicinity and make it an attraction.
And they are succeeding! Five years on – the spectacle was officially launched in 2022 by the Vodza Ecotourism Initiative – when the community plotted a long-term vision to transform the Vodza-Adzido area and the Keta Municipality into a leading eco-cultural tourism destination.
Brainchild of the Gadzekpo siblings, – Audrey, Frank, Keli and Sese – they roped in their tourism veteran Aunt, Mrs. Bridget Katsriku, – a former Chief Director of the Tourism Ministry, – and together as council members they have been pushing and working hard to make sure things work organically. They wanted to develop infrastructure while protecting the area’s biodiversity. In the 1990s, the community had to do a lot of land reclamation and lagoon dredging, owing to ferocious attacks by the ocean. That’s when the dialogue led to the formation of the initiative and marked the beginning of the long term plan.
Centred around the Keta Lagoon—one of Ghana’s largest and ecologically significant lagoon systems—the project aims to attract both local and international visitors by showcasing the area’s natural beauty and cultural heritage.
I had audience with Yvonne Ocloo of Top Dog Africa, the experiential marketing agency recruited to lead the charge to execute the festival within the scheme – a community-led canoe regatta which has become quite popular – and I asked her what preparations had been made to receive the numbers, and more importantly, what measures had been put in place to mitigate against “over-tourism”, should there be an overflow.
All set for the races on Easter weekend at the Vodza Easter Regatta
The regatta is named after a town named Vodza, where the festivities will be taking place. I love that locality. It is the beautiful coastal stretch in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region, situated along the narrow strip of land between the Keta Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Keta Lagoon is the largest of over 90 lagoons that cover the 550 km stretch of the coastline of Ghana. It is 126 km in length and a Complex Ramsar Site that covers part of the Volta River estuary. That whole stretch gives off the most spectacular views of nature, and it is one of those areas whose mangrove attracts migrant birds who fly in all the way from Europe.
The authorities here want to position the area’s ecotourism potential as a tool for environmental conservation, economic resilience, and cultural preservation in the region. And they are using the magnet of competition to draw the crowds in with the introduction of a regatta – a sporting event consisting of a series of boat, or on this occasion, canoe races.
Scheduled for the Easter weekend – April 3-5, the conceivable influx of visitors that could be descending on the Keta area, owing to the traction the event is gaining through the strategic promotion it is receiving, could be immense.
Are the organizers prepared for the inflow of visitors who might turn up for the festival over the weekend? The managers of the 3-day festival, Top Dog Africa, seem to think so, and are poised to make sure people have a seamless experience.
Hear Managing Director Yvonne Ocloo: “We have onboarded the entire hospitality ecosystem of the vicinity, accommodation, catering facilities, to provide guests with the utmost hospitality.”
This year they partnered with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to bring visibility to the events. The fisherfolk, having totally embraced it, transforms the festival, and in the true traditions of sportsmanship, while it may not be physical infrastructure, but behaviour, the community ownership of this system, this festival, means the locals are invested stakeholders, and this is why this event will stand the test of time, if they continue its execution as they have started.
At its core, the structured organization behind this initiative, focused on a comprehensive plan to create jobs and build new income streams for the local fishing communities, resonates. The plan is explicit in addressing the economic challenges caused by the coastal erosion and flooding; and the plan fosters collaboration among stakeholders for sustainable development while preserving and celebrating the cultural identity of the community.
This is what seems to have connected with the people of the community, striking a chord with them. Identifying a commonality among them, they created a performance spectacle of it, developing their age old “canoe traditions” into what is currently a significant visitor attraction.
Three days of events, the festival promises an exciting array of activities besides canoe races, including swimming competitions, food fairs, live performances, health screenings, and more. Promotion for it has been well structured, and the excitement is building up. The bigger promise is that it will be an unparalleled experience.
Keta’s Emancipation beachfront, a special place for relaxation
As managers behind this exciting venture, Top Dog Africa has their job cut out. Over multiple engagements, they seem to have inspired “community voices, ideas and energy,” as they promise to build more than just an event.
“We’re shaping an experience,” articulates Ms Ocloo.
Experiences anchored by the morning Regatta races, the vibrant Midunu Fair in the afternoon, and the Canoe Jam to close the night, as well as the peripheral lagoon island canoe tours, and the pure pleasure of nature’s charm of the vicinity!
“So,” Yvonne asks, “If even birds are flying in all the way from Europe to celebrate Vodza, what’s your excuse?” We laugh at this.
The festival is positioned as a key cultural tourism event under the Black Star Experience initiative, as it partners with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to accentuate its promotion.
Ms Ocloo reiterates that by showcasing Vodza-Keta’s “unique cultural heritage and natural splendour through various activities, we seek to attract domestic and international tourists. Our goal is to generate economic opportunities for the indigenous people of the fishing community in the face of frequent displacement caused by rising tides and flooding.”
By promoting ecotourism in the area, it is the aim of the Initiative “to increase revenue for the local fishing community, providing them with alternative sources of income to mitigate the economic impact of displacement caused by rising tides and flooding. Also, by spotlighting the rich cultural heritage of the Ghanaian fishing community, we aim to revitalize the sense of pride and identity among community members, ensuring the preservation of their unique traditions for generations to come.”
All roads lead to Keta next weekend. In partnership with Sunseekers Tours (leading destination managers), there are special packaged tours available to send visitors and participants from Accra.
Acquiring direct engagement with a premium audience are some key brands who are investing in communities including, as headline sponsor for Vodza Easter Regatta, Dalex Swift. Others are Nsoroma, Star Oil, Stanbic Bank, Enterprise Group, Hunter, Fidelity Bank, Equilibium, and Serene Hotel.
For more information on participating in the Vodza Easter Regatta, you may WhatsApp me 0244697046.
