Souvenirs and Tourism Promotion in Ghana

Abstract

This paper examines the types of souvenirs produced and their importance in the promotion of tourism in Ghana. The study also seeks to identify the motives behind the purchase of souvenirs by tourists visiting the country and it further evaluates the operations of the Accra Arts Centre in the sale of authentic souvenirs to tourists. As souvenirs bought by tourists constitute a major aspect of tourism products of every destination, this study, based on a research work conducted in May 2010, involved a sample size of fifty stakeholders in the souvenir trade at the Arts Centre in Accra, Ghana. Structured questionnaires administered to the respondents, were analysed using simple statistical methods such as frequencies and percentages. The paper argues that souvenirs are as important as the places where they are made and concludes that souvenirs bought by tourists visiting Ghana must be so authentic and finished in such a way that they could compare favourably with others from internationally acclaimed tourism destinations around the world.
Keywords: souvenirs; artifacts; memento; promotion; authenticity.