A Management Consultant, Mr Stephen Antwi, has predicted a slight increase in the prices of food as a result of Ghana hosting the Ghana 2008. He said the phenomenon would be engineered by the high demand for food and food items during the period of the tournament. Much as prices of food and food items will go up, traders and hawkers in promotional materials and items such as T-shirts, baseball caps, mugs, horns, pens and pencils, and scarfs will equally have a field day by hiking their prices as the Ghana Black Stars cruise through to the semi-final stage of the competition. Mr Antwi, who is also the President of the Ghanaian-German Economic Association (GGEA), said the overall benefits for Ghana hosting the tournament would far outstrip any such momentary and minimal hikes in food prices. According to him, taxes and levies, particularly Value Added Tax (VAT) would soar. He said the advertising industry would also benefit immensely as the tournament had sparked an array of publicity in the run-up to and during the tournament. "Publicity should have started a little earlier, but it is now •on and it will get better," he stated. Mr Antwi said massive construction of sporting facilities before the tournament provided employment and all the multiplier effects were some of the direct benefits that the economy would immediately derive. "Infrastructural development has come along with road construction, building of hotels and stadia, and other facilities such as schools and institutions are things that those institutions will use way after the tournament," Mr Antwi noted. In addition, he said, there would be the introduction of more money into the economy as visitors trooped in for the tournament. Just this week, a new air transport service, known as Afritel, was launched to help people to travel across the length and breadth of the country. "This is an example of the new money," he reiterated. Mr Antwi said due to the geographical location of the country, the Ghana 2008 event could attract visitors and football fans from as many as seven neighbouring African countries to boost economic activities, particularly in areas such as car rentals and transportation in general as well as the hospitality industry. Mobile phone companies would not be left out, since they would benefit tremendously from terminating calls, which constituted a significant chunk of their revenue base. Mr Antwi called on the sports authorities to use Ghana 2008 to make lasting contacts with European clubs and countries likely to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup to use Ghana as training ground. He said given that Ghana was located at the centre of the world, many countries would want to use the country for pre-World Cup training tours before moving to South Africa, where the tournament would be staged in 2010. "A lot of sports personalities and dignitaries are going to be here and if our sports facilities are able to withstand this fiesta, a lot of countries will like to use the country for preparation before the World Cup in South Africa," Mr Antwi stated. "We should lobby some of these personalities during the Ghana 2008, with the pledge of placing our sports facilities at their disposal," the management consultant added. The success of that move would be bolstered greatly by the performance of the hospitality industry, whose splendour would create a lasting impression on the minds of the visitors. "Sportsmen and women are good couriers of messages. Having tasted and enjoyed our services, they will go on to become goodwill ambassadors for the country," Mr Antwi pointed. We should augment this with neatness and decency in the public and at our hotels as this was the only way to leave a lasting impression lingering on the minds of visitors; he said. Above all, Mr Antwi said, a successful tournament would give the country a positive impression which should be a national pride to help stake an imposing claim worldwide. Source: Samuel Doe Ablordeppey, Daily Graphic.