Vice President of the Events and Meeting Professionals Association of Ghana (EMPAG), has said the nation’s improved technical capacity for business events has set the industry on the right path for growth.

Kojo Poku said what is known in the tourism industry as MICE - an acronym for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions/events, is helping stakeholders make strides in the industry.

Speaking at a webinar organised as part of the 'Graphic Do Ghana Travel Festival' with support from EMPAG, he said many companies in the events industry have invested in their equipment and human resource.

This has led to the attraction of more conferences to Ghana as well as a growing interest in MICE locally.

 “Over the years, investments made by companies by means of staff training, and the procurement of modern equipment has led to an improvement in the technical aspects in the organisation of our events.”

 He added that “Our institutions have continuously trained people over the years and this has reflected in their work. It is, therefore, not a coincidence that Ghana has one of the largest capacities in terms of translators, who play a very critical role at many functions.”

The event which was organized under the theme “Think MICE, Think Business Events” brought together some key individuals within the events industry in Ghana to share key insights on their industry.

Touching on the need for collaborations, Theresa Ayoade, EMPAG President and Chief Executive Officer for Charterhouse Productions said, “Ghana is privileged to be positioned as a MICE Hub in West Africa.

However, there is the need for stronger collaborations between the private and public sector to increase the market confidence reposed in Ghana’s MICE industry by many people.” These collaborations, according to her, would go a long way to turn around the fortunes of MICE in Ghana.

On his part, Pa John Dadson, Curator of Do Ghana Festival cited data collection to be a major setback within the tourism industry.

According to him, many event practitioners or companies are not keen on sharing data pertaining to their businesses for a variety of reasons.

“Data collection is a difficult conversation in the tourism industry as many event practitioners and companies feel that their information would be shared with government or their competitor.

"This sometimes poses challenges in the bid to get a true representation of our industry, in terms of capacity, for presentation to government and sometimes investors,” he said.

The Events and Meeting Professionals Association of Ghana (EMPAG) is a coalition of Event Management practitioners in Ghana. The association is noted for its advocacy for protection and growth of the events management industry in Ghana. 

EMPAG supported the Graphic Communications Group to host the 2nd Graphic 'Do Ghana' Travel Festival webinar with focus on MICE sector.

Other supporters were Asaase Radio, Ghana Tourism Authority, Bentsifi, Grand Arena, Roam Ghana, Oxygen and the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management, University of Cape Coast.