Measuring the economic benefit of festivals is as important as the planning

All roads led to Cape Coast last weekend. In other to promote our festivals, locals must travel to visit other parts of the country. Festivals are no exceptions. Some Christians believe attending these festivals are not right and Godly. Well, it all depends on the motive for attending.

If the motive is just to observe and help promote domestic tourism by incorporating a visit to other attractions in the region or area visited and taking a break from the stressful life of Accra then, in my opinion, there may be nothing ungodly. Nevertheless, if the motivation is to engage in promiscuous acts and excessive drinking then some people may be discouraged. Religious leaders influence their followers a lot and there must be a balance.  In tourism, the reason or reasons why a person or persons visit a destination is key to planning a suitable tour package.

Festivals are very important activities that generate economic activities and help local economies and the national economy as a whole. Domestic spending is very essential to economic growth and must be encouraged to aid the national economy through the multiplier effect.

I could not make it there however seeing pictures and videos and following the news I see it to have been a vast success. This year’s Fetu Afahye is especially significant as it marked the 60th anniversary of the festival, a milestone that reflects decades of preserving tradition and unity. Adding to the festive spirit, the celebration also coincided with the 25th anniversary of the installation of the Paramount Chief of the Oguaa Traditional Area, making it a momentous occasion for the people of Cape Coast.

For those who don’t know Oguaa Fetu Afahye is a festival celebrated on the first Saturday of September by the people of Oguaa or Cape Coast Traditional Area.  It is named after the 17th Century Fetu or Effutu kingdom located some 19 kilometres inland of Paramount Chief’s yam festival and is observed in the form of offering mashed yams to the gods.

I have been encouraging the measuring of the economic effect of our Ghanaian festivals on the national economy. I don’t know if such measures were put in place and if the data is available. Gathering this data is very essential in the planning and analyses.

Uysal and Gitleson (1994) define festivals as ‘traditional events staged to increase the tourism appeal to potential visitors. Festivals are very important occasions on the traditional calendars of the various traditional areas. All the festivals have political, social, economic and religious importance in Ghana. In Ghana, some of the reasons for celebrating our festivals are but not limited to;

1. Marking the beginning of a traditional year.
   2. Offering thanks to the Supreme God for His care and protection, and to offer thanks to the ancestors and the spirits for their protection during the past year.
   3. Remembering and mourning those who had died during the year.
   4. Marking the beginning of harvesting of a staple food, e.g., yam or rice, and the beginning of a new agricultural year.
   5. Performing the customary purification of the land and the people by the chiefs and the traditional priests. This purification is to strengthen them spiritually and socially to enable them to face the coming year successfully.
2. Renewing the people’s loyalties to their chiefs by paying homage to them.
   Settling family disputes, quarrels, or misunderstandings.
   7. Reviewing the past year’s activities and to resolve to correct past mistakes and plan for the future.
   8. Giving the youth the opportunity to know one another and in some cases choose their life partners.
   9. Continuing the traditions.
   10. Teaching the youth about their traditions.

One very important unheeded benefit to Ghana is the fact that, apparently every month of the year a festival is celebrated somewhere in Ghana. Festivals are event attractions in tourism. They are event attractions because the event taking place serves as a means of attracting mass tourists to one destination. I was with some American tourists not long ago who happened to come from Colorado state in the USA.

I was informed that in the area where they live, is mostly desert land however, they attract so many tourists yearly and tourism keeps thriving because the focus is on events attractions. Every week, different kinds of events are held attracting many tourists. These events are well-planned and marketed to generate the needed tourism flow to the destination.

According to a study by Bucks New University, during the Edinburgh Festivals Impact Study in May 2011 Over 2010, the Edinburgh Festivals are estimated to have:

• generated new output of £245m in Edinburgh and £261m in Scotland
• generated £59m in new income in Edinburgh and £82m in Scotland
• supported 5,242 new FTE jobs in Edinburgh and 4,917 in Scotland

Figures from another study on the world-famous Glastonbury Festival impacts on the worldwide economy to the tune of more than £ 73 million. The study revealed that a crowd of 177,500 people attended the Glastonbury Festival in 2007; with an average spend per person of £293.24.

The Total spending at the festival site in Pilton by revellers and traders was about £25.6million, and off-site spend was about £ 26.5 million, giving a total spend of about £ 52 million directly linked to the festival. I hope that as we talk about the successes of the Fetu Afahye, we shall also publish the data in following the example above.

How to Undertake Economic Impact Studies

• Identify the scope of the study
• Identify Stakeholders
• Suppliers
• Performers and Participants
• Workforce and Volunteers
• Sponsors
• Local authorities and organisations, interest groups and associations.
• Understand your Audience -the demographic and their spending habits

Who are they (Demographics)

Where do they come from? Local/festival tourists How do they get to your event? What do they spend their money on and where do they buy? Average individual spend/ total spend.

Strategies for effective promotion of the festival

Beyond gathering of data, promotion must be key. Some strategies should include the involvement of tourism experts in the planning process. These experts will ensure the planning are done with much focus on the economic gains to the local economy.

The traditional authorities must collaborate with the media in promoting these festivals because the media has a big role in promoting festivals and tourism as a whole. Mr. Francesco Frangialli, the former UNWTO Secretary-General once expressed the view that, modern-day tourism is highly dependent on media reporting.

I agree with him because a vast majority of travel decisions are made by tourists who have never seen their anticipated destination first-hand for themselves. Many travellers around the world today are making their travel decisions on their own with little or no help from tour operators. To make these decisions they use information from multiple media sources which include print and electronic not overlooking social media. Tourists usually decide on the destination first, based on what they have heard or seen from the media.

Media today has evolved into a multi-faceted force that has become an integral part of our lives, influencing almost everything we do. Media is no longer confined to one-way communication. Using available technology and social media, we can now communicate and interact with one another anywhere on planet Earth instantly. Today information virtually has no barriers thanks to this media explosion.

The role of the media in promoting festivals should not be limited to only the traditional media such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines etc.  Social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapshot, YouTube, Twitter, What’s App, tick tok etc. All the aforementioned have introduced a whole new era of communication. We must observe these trends carefully and understand how each of these developments is influencing the future growth of tourism.

The focus of the media should be on promoting the following good practices;

• Protection of the environment and minimizing negative social impacts of tourism.
• Generating greater economic benefits for local people and enhancing the well-being of host communities through the multiplier effect.
• Making positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage and promoting the world’s diversity.
• Providing more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues. When all the above are carefully considered and implemented, I believe our festival will yield the right patronage and generate the right economic gains.

Philip Gebu is the Founder of Maximum Impact Tourism Club a tourism club with focus on community engagement and development.  He is the C.E.O of FoReal Destinations Ltd, a Tourism Destinations Management and Marketing Company. Please contact Philip with your comments and suggestions. Write to forealdestinations@gmail.com / info@forealdestinations.com. Visit our website at www.forealdestinations.com or call or WhatsApp +233(0)244295901/0264295901.Visist our social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: FoReal Destinations/maximum impact.