By: Tarr “Jay U boye” Woryonwon
Tourism in some countries is a key development pillar and citizens get punished or prosecuted for harassing or cheating tourists. That’s how important countries like Tunisia and Thailand take tourism. Ghana is one country in West Africa that values Tourism and they will go the extra to promote their country to the World.
In Liberia it’s a different case. Businesses like Hotels, entertainment centers, clubs, casinos, supermarkets, beaches, real properties, small businesses, make-up artists, fashion designers, set designers, etc really believe they don’t need commercial promotion for their businesses. They don’t pay for advertisement. They either believe they are already known to the public or they are the best and they are wanted by everyone.
In some high tourism rate countries, businesses would go after bloggers and international television networks to get their businesses promoted, or to get a high traffic on their official business page. My experience as a film maker and blogger, I found it difficult to get businesses getting promoted on my platforms even though I have a huge traffic.
My travel to Tunisia, I realized that the country only survives on Tourism and Olives. Big and small businesses were getting promoted on every little blog in their reach.
Liberia is one of the most beautiful countries in West Africa in term of natural beauty as well as resorts and hotels. Everyday there’s beautiful and new facilities popping up in the country but the public and the world will not see how breathtaking they are because of the lack of publicity or commercial advert. Liberia also has some of the best makeup artists, set designers but they never pay for ads to get the public knowing them.
Well, I don’t blame some high rated Liberian couple who goes to Ghana just to hire set designers for their wedding that became one of the most talk about in the country. Not that the Ghanaians are better in those fields than Liberians, but they were paying bloggers to promote their businesses online and that’s how they got noticed.
As a film maker I would call make-up artists to work with on a film project, a project that thousands or even millions would get to see through trailer on social apps and the makeup artists would get tagged in every posts acknowledging their work and even stand the chance to be hired by other international producers as well as getting nominated in international awards for best make-up. Those make-up artists would feel they are the best in the country and would make so many excuses to working with you.
Set designers, hotels and every beautiful facilities would give you the same attitude when you approach them to using their facility for film production and though you will notice that there’s not even a single client that has checked in.
Film makers would contact potential actors and actresses to play some major roles for the first time and they will be demanding huge payments and not even concern about the future of the film, how well the producer intend to push it, to distribute it, the quality, etc.
I think it’s time to learn from the fashion designer Telfar Clemans. He is known in the united States of America for his design and style but still had to sponsor the Liberian Olympic team to Japan, paying for their trips, hotel, food and as well designing their uniforms.
If we don’t address these issues and fix them, no matter how we build all the beautiful infrastructures in this country we are not going anywhere with tourism.
Thanks for reading.
You can leave your comment on the kind of customers service you got at some of these facilities and how was your interaction with entrepreneurs in Liberia.
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