Communication gap analysis of the availability of tourism related information on Ghana

Abstract

As part of the tourism trade, destinations are required to provide adequate information on their tourism products and facilities to the potential tourist at the market. The paper assesses the availability of tourism related information on the Ghana's tourism to visitors' from the UK, the USA and Germany. The discrepancy approach which relates the expected (basic information to make effective travel decisions) to the actual situation (actual travel information available for planning a trip) was adopted to help identify information gaps with regard to Ghana tourism industry Although, visitors from both the UK, the USA and Germany indicated that there is reliable information on Ghana's climate, clothing requirements and visa requirement in their various countries, they pointed out that there is dearth of information on Ghana's major tourism products (major museums, fee charged at attractions, major festivals, customs and tradition of the people) in the key markets, a phenomenon described in the communication equation model as gap to be filled.

IFE PsychologIA Vol. 14(2) 2006: 36-55