Accra's beaches saw limited usage as people failed to flock there in large numbers for the recent Eid al-Adha holiday to have fun and unwind. Despite the several exciting events planned, many of the beaches the Daily Graphic visited last Monday had only a small number of visitors. The Laboma Beach, La Pleasure Beach, Sakumono Beach, Osu Afia Beach, and Kokrobite were a few of the beaches frequented.
Laboma
At the Laboma Beach, it was mostly empty as of 11 a.m. After 3 o'clock, customers began to pour in. The majority of the visitors, who were primarily in groups, were either lounging beneath tents, playing football, or strolling.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the resort's chief executive officer and founder, Daniel M. K. Okpoti, noted that attendance was lower than it had been during past vacations.
Only 500 tickets had been sold at the time of the interview out of the 10,000 that were anticipated to be sold, he claimed.
Despite the nation's economic position, he stated, "we are managing but it is better than before since we are witnessing some changes."
The administrative officer of the resort, Jonas Nikoi, announced that his organisation was redesigning the beach to accommodate more families in order to make the resort livelier and draw more visitors.
Beach Labadi
The narrative remained the same in Labadi Beach. There was no line this Christmas season, in contrast to prior ones when there were lengthy lines of people waiting to enter the building.
The problem was also evident in the sales that beachside vendors reported. Francis Asitibasi, a kebab seller who identified himself as such, claimed to have earned less than GHC 50.00 since morning.
Only six persons, according to Albert Adjei Adjetey, who lends horses to beachgoers as of 4 p.m., have used his services. Charles Arthur, a customer, claimed he came there for fun with buddies from Accra Academy and St. Mary's school's 2004 graduating class.
Kokrobite
The Daily Graphic said that the road network going to Kokrobite has been incredibly terrible at the Kokrobite Beach, especially in light of the recent storms and floods.
Due to people moving to other beaches with easy access, business was not thriving.
Elikplim Krakah, the manager of Big Milly's Backyard, told the Daily Graphic that although COVID-19 had contributed to the poor patronage, inflation had aggravated the problem and people no longer had money to visit resorts and hire rooms for vacations.
Though it being a vacation, he saw that the area was just as empty as it would be on a typical weekday when people would be at work. Lindsay Asare, the proprietor of Dizzy Lizzie's Beach Resort, bemoaned the resort's poor attendance and blamed it on inflation, terrible roads, and negative perceptions.
She added that because of the increase in product costs, many individuals were unable to attend beaches due to financial problems.
Speaking about misperception, she said that although Kokrobite was a tranquil hamlet, due of its popularity among the nearby communities, it frequently became associated with robberies and kidnappings that occurred in other areas.
security concerns
As a result, for security considerations, individuals have restricted their use of the beaches in Kokrobite. She said that even if swimming-related activities increased in the evening, few people visited the restaurant and bar since they typically brought picnic baskets filled with their own food.
She thus urged the Ghana Tourism Authority to increase its marketing efforts for the beaches and concentrate on luring in foreign visitors. Amina Hassan, a vacationer at the resort, claimed that she went there with her pals to go swimming and have a good time. She stated that they were unable to afford to pay for swimming, so they picked the resort since it offered free swimming.