PaJohn Dadson
In recognition of his relentless efforts and contribution to the promotion and development of tourism in Ghana, accomplished communications practitioner and cultural concierge, PaJohn Bentsifi Dadson, has been awarded with a certificate of honour at the 2016 Greater Accra Regional Tourism Awards.
Instituted by the Ghana Tourism Authority, the regional awards are a precursor to a national one that will be held soon and seeks to reward establishments and individuals whose operations within the tourism sector seek to uphold high standards.
This year’s awards under the theme: ‘Advancing The Gains of Tourism Through Quality Service Delivery’, was held last Thursday, October 20 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra.
At the ceremony, PaJohn who was the only one to receive an honourary award joined several other winners of the competitive category and recipients to pick up their certificates.
He initiated and operated the first privately-run citywide visitor information service for tourists from 1999-2009 at the Ghana Tourist Board approved Accra Visitor Centre on Accra’s busy Ring Road Central.
In 2002, PaJohn sought to establish a week-long focus on tourism in the capital with the centre’s ‘Accra Tourism Week’ initiative. Though short-lived, he launched it with a successful photo exhibition which put the focus on the capital’s landmarks.
During that time, he also established himself as an authority on the city’s cultural, arts and entertainment scene through writings in his ‘Guy About Town’ columns in at various periods over the last 25 years, Bentsifi’s Diary in Weekend Chronicle, Bentsifi’s Diary in Ghana Weekly (a Ghanaian community newspaper in London), Bentsifi’s Buffs in The Accra Mail, Bentsifi In Ovation West Africa and currently Bentsifi’s Tattle in The Mirror newspapers, all in Accra.
With a keen interest in cultural activism, PaJohn is currently the leader of the media task team of the Ghana Culture Forum – a national civil society consultative forum on culture and development, as well as the media coordinator for Accra Culture & Arts Network (Accra CAN) – a network of cultural institutions united to promote our city as a vibrant cultural capital in Africa.
For PaJohn, promoting Ghana’s tourism is a ‘labour of love’. In 2015, believing that promoting Ghana’s tourism lies with every citizen, even as the public sector grapples with ways to effectively consolidate the sector, he forged a coalition to help bridge the gap with the formation of the ‘Tourism Marketing Alliance Ghana’ (TMAG) which sought to stimulate domestic tourism.
Together with a network of high-profile media partners, including Joy 99.7FM and The Mirror newspaper, and his destination management resource, Bentsifi as alliance members, they launched the ‘See Ghana’ domestic tourism crusade, a media campaign to create greater awareness of our tourism.
On the forefront of the domestic tourism movement, ‘See Ghana’ created an opportunity for the capital’s residents to experience our heritage and hospitality, as well as to make tourism ambassadors of them through the regular scheduled ‘WangoWango’ road trips.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Entrepreneurship from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).