Ghana: The Soul of West Africa

copyright 1999
ISBN 0-324-03070-3

Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.

Length
This case is 12 pages in length and its case teaching package is 8 pages.

Abstract

The Republic of Ghana's Director of Tourism was faced with the task of developing a plan of action to increase the country's tourist traffic. The country had many tourist attractions including beaches, former slave castles, wildlife preserves, cultural festivals, and tropical rainforests. However, these are not unique to Ghana, and intensive competitin from other countries exists. The director needed to identify what was unique about Ghana and position the country apporpriately to a variety of target markets. His task was complicated by inadequate information on competitors.

There are several courses for which this case is appropriate. International marketing and international business courses can use this case to familiarize students with a country few Americans know very much about and with a continent that gets virtually no attention in most instructional material. There is great value in exposing students to the nature of the political, economic, and business environments in countries like Ghana since much of this is so different from what is commonly encountered in the United States, Europe, or Asia. In addition, the case is a natural fit with an advertising or promotions management course. Many of the relevant issues center around promo-tional issues such as developing a campaign to attract tourists to the country, finding ways to blunt any negative perceptions that may exist about Ghana and Africa, specific media issues for any proposed campaign, etc. The case can also be used in a marketing strategy, services marketing, or travel and tourism course to highlight issues relating to marketing a country-environmental analysis, developing strategic goals and objectives, selecting target markets, positioning, and marketing mix considera-tions. The case can be used for a senior-level undergraduate course or even in a graduate course.

Study Questions

1. What are Ghana's strengths and weaknesses as a potential tourist destination?
2. What are the potential target markets for Ghana's tourism efforts? Critically evaluate each in terms of its pros and cons.
3. What should the positioning strategy be?
4. What are some of the issues which need to be considered in developing a promotional campaign for Ghana Tourism?
5. What additional data would Kutin need in order to sharpen his strategy? Suggest the basic foundation for a marketing information system.