Tourists abandon Ghana despite its successes against Ebola

HUMANOSPHERE  by Tom Murphy                                                                          May 1, 2015

ELMINA, Ghana – Each evening the fishermen set out in their hand-carved wooden boats. By nightfall, the horizon is dotted by a long row of small lights, their own constellation. Fish are caught, the haul is sold in markets and life continues. But one group is noticeably absent from Elmina and other towns along Ghana’s coast – tourists.

The near-empty Elmina Bay Resort. (Credit: Tom Murphy)

Thousands of college students embark on a trip to see the world and do a bit of learning through the Semester at Sea program. The West African countries of Senegal and Ghana are usually on the itinerary, bringing a steady flow of tourism to the two countries. But the countries are not destinations for three consecutive semesters due to concerns about Ebola.

“As the health and safety of our participants remains the top priority of Semester at Sea, the Fall 2014, Spring 2015, and Fall 2015 voyages will not visit Senegal or Ghana as originally planned,” said a statement from Lauren Judge, director of public affairs for Semester at Sea, published in August 2014 and updated in October.

Two days after the update, the WHO congratulated Senegal for stopping the transmission of Ebola after a single case made it to the country. To date there have been no new cases in Senegal and there is yet to be a case in Ghana. But the fear of it spreading is enough to divert the ships from ports in West Africa.

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http://www.humanosphere.org/social-business/2015/05/tourists-abandon-ghana-despite-its-successes-against-ebola/