Abeiku Santana (R) exchanging pleasantries with Roy Page’s delegation
Jamaican tourism entrepreneur and CEO of Asterix Tourism Services Limited, Mr. Roy Page, has met with the Deputy CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr. Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey and some management board of the authority, as part of his two-week visit to Ghana to advance collaboration between Jamaica and Africa.
The meeting formed part of Mr. Page’s engagements to launch community-based business initiatives in Ghana, with Paga in the Upper East Region selected as the first beneficiary community.
Speaking during the meeting, Mr. Page said his mission in Ghana goes beyond tourism. “Our real reason to be here is to be able to have community businesses. We really want to turn communities into businesses,” he stated.
According to him, the initiative is built on the concept of “Village as a Business” under the Country Style Community Tourism Network, where every member of a community is empowered to see themselves as business owners.
Mr. Page also outlined his flagship initiative dubbed “Know Thyself,” aimed at fostering cultural exchange and reconnection between Africans and the diaspora.
He explained that under the initiative, 100 persons from Jamaica, including Maroons, Rastas and Tainos, will visit Ghana to interact with chiefs, kings and royal families to share in music, culture and history, while 100 Ghanaians will also travel to Jamaica.
“We want Caribbean persons to come to Africa and Africans to go to the Caribbean. We are starting with Jamaica and Ghana because we believe in models. We want the models to work, and then we can establish it throughout Africa and the Caribbean,” he noted.
Mr. Page disclosed that discussions are ongoing with airlines to operate a charter flight for the exchange programme, with the first trips expected around Ghana’s 70th anniversary in March and a homecoming event in December 2026 featuring reggae artiste Gramps Morgan.
“We are planning a twinning of these eras. In Jamaica, we have some strong Maroon communities. They have had meetings and they are already in agreement. They want to come to Ghana,” he added.
Mr. Page emphasised that the focus of his visit remains community development and execution of concrete projects. “We really want to execute everything that we mentioned. We really want the Caribbean to come to Africa and learn from Africans, and Africans to go to the Caribbean and learn from the Caribbeans, because although we are distance apart, we are still one,” he stressed.
Mr. Abeiku Aggrey and the board assured him of the authority’s willingness to collaborate with his organisation to create impressive experiences for the initiative.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke