The three-month training, coordinated by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) under the tourism component of the Ghana CARES Obaatanpa project, was also aimed at helping the frontline operators to have an understanding of French culture.

The frontliners were presented with certificates at a closing ceremony organised in Accra yesterday.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Akwasi Agyemang, explained that it was crucial to train the frontline service providers such as the hotel workers, due to an increase in visitors from francophone countries into the country, particularly during festive seasons.

He said among the top 10 arrivals into the country in 2021, Cote d’Ivoire and France were in the top 10, although France dropped to the 11th position last year.

“We want to have a lot more Francophone countries in the top 10 and that is why we want to get our operators prepared,” Mr Agyemang said.

In view of the training, the GTA CEO said the authority would be moving into the region to engage more frontliners, particularly those along the borders.

“We opened the training up to the operators and registered them to start.

This is the first training, from here we are going to Tema, Kumasi and to other regions, especially in areas along the borders,” he stated.

Mr Agyemang stressed the importance for operators to be interested in learning the French language so they could properly welcome guests and visitors from French speaking countries.

“We felt it was necessary to position ourselves for the francophone market, especially for a country that is surrounded by French speaking countries,” he explained.

The GTA CEO said customer service was also embedded in the programme to train the frontliners in how to be hospitable to French visitors.

Mr Agyemang indicated that the GTA would work with operators in the tourism industry to put French signage in all tourism facilities.

He encouraged the frontliners trained to adopt technology to keep learning the French language to build on the knowledge they had acquired at the training.

“Go out there and be interested in the language.

Now there are free tutorials on the internet from which you can learn from,” Mr Agyemang entreated them.

He said the French language could present them with opportunities such as at their workplaces and other areas but could also be a barrier in their area of work.

A Board Member of the GTA, Dentaa Amoateng, encouraged the frontliners to take the learning of French seriously as it could create tutoring opportunities for them. 

She said the learning of the language could also help sell Ghanaian culture better to French visitors.