The Mole National Park is currently attracting more tourists, following the rehabilitation of access roads leading to the Park.
Last year 17,800 tourists visited the park, which is managed by the Ghana Wildlife Society, as against 14,600 recorded in 2014.
Local visitor numbers increased from 6,000 in 2014 to 12,000 in 2015 — representing 60 percent increase in the number of visitors to the centre, while 40 percent of the visitors were foreigners.
Foreign tourist arrivals however decreased from 6,000 to 4,000 largely due to the outbreak of an Ebola epidemic in the West Africa sub-region.
Mole National Park is Ghana’s largest national park, situated in the heart of the pristine Guinea Savannah Woodland ecosystem with low hills and escarpments.which is home to several species of mammals and birds, and is Ghana’s most developed park covering an area of about 4,912 sq. km in the district of West Gonja district.
It is no surprise that the park is rated as the most popular game park and is the most visited of all parks and reserves in Ghana as it is said to contain about 600 elephants, 2,000 roan antelopes, 3,000 hartebeest, 4,000 waterbuck, 5,000 buffalo and 6,000 warthogs among numerous other animals like lions and reptiles roaming about freely in the park feeding on natural foods.
The park is an important water catchment area with smaller streams and rivers pouring their water into the White Volta. The Polzen is one of the rivers in the park with spectacular falls downstream. There are an estimated 742 species of plants and trees in the park, of which four are endemic species and more than 20 are classified as rare species.
Mole is accessible by public transport from Tamale and other regions due to reconstruction of the road networks making movement very easy for tourists as compared to the days when visitors found it difficult to access the Park due to the road’s bad nature.
Mr. Farouk Umaru Dubiure, the Park Manager who disclosed this to the B&FT in an interview, noted that the increase in visitors is largely due to the present good road networks.
“Though we received many visitors, the funds generated were very low because 70 percent of the visitors were Ghanaian students who pay little to visit the park. These students also visit the Park on the same day and return, compared to the foreigners who spend more days to view the Park well,” he said.
He said Ghanaian visitors do not go on safaris, or patronise the motel and other interesting places in the Park — thereby making it difficult for management to meet its target.
The Park Manager lamented that lack of funds to rehabilitate roads in the Park deters most visitors from accessing the other sites.
The Zaina Lodge, a relatively new hospitality facility, is well-equipped to accommodate visitors.
According to him, the motel — as small as it appears to be — also plays a very significant role in the sustenance and maintenance of the game reserve, offering accommodation and kitchen services to almost all the 15,000 visitors to the park every year.
The park is currently the most prestigious game reserve the nation has, and is among the best tourism destinations in the country.
Mr. Dubiure said rehabilitation of the Wa airstrip will help facilitate and boost tourism in the region.
Ghana’s tourism sector has undoubtedly contributed significantly to the growth of its economy, particularly in recent years as the sector still continues to demonstrate its potential as a key driver of growth and development, he said.
He assured that efforts are being made to ensure the animals are not poached in the park.
Source: B&FT Online