The five finalists also featured: a balloon festival and super Tuscany experience presented by Adolfo Aloschi on behalf of the Italian National Tourist Board; Be a Local Hero augmented reality app from Passenger Terminal Amsterdam; the Appleton Estate Jamaica rum tour and the Great Halls of Liverpool by Cruise Liverpool.
Facilitated by Liz Gammon, principal, lizgammon.com, the judging panel comprised Jean-Pierre Joubert, shore excursion director , MSC Cruises, Darius Mehta vp, cruise reservations, land & air, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Arnaldo Zanonato, senior manager, port adventures, Disney Cruise Line.
In a knock out competition, the five finalists had to describe their tours to the judges in lightening pitch rounds covering description of the tour and WOW factor, sustainability, community involvement and high-volume capacity delivery.
Mawali Dzebu, general manager of Landtours Ghana, described the fishing tour which can take from 10 passengers up to 100 maximum on an immersive experience with the local fishermen, working alongside them in preparing the boats, dragging their nets, learning how to sew the nets and how to smoke the fish.
‘In Ghana, no commercial fishing is allowed and it is forbidden to fish on a Tuesday either to ensure the stocks are not depleted and fish are only caught for local consumption by the community,’ Dzebu explained.
There are a 1,000 fishing communities located along Ghana’s extensive coast which involves the whole village from chief fisherman to chief smoker and from boat builder to net makers or repairers and each tour guarantees you will meet and work alongside one of the members of the supply chain, said Dzebu.
‘Having spent a day on this immersive experience can you imagine the amazing conversation onboard the ship during that evening’s dinner,’ noted Mehta who was specifically looking for the WOW factor.
Semester at sea has featured the Ghana fishing tour in its shorex programme.
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