IT has been observed that operators of restaurants in the Tamale Metropolis can increase their daily sales and help boost tourism in the area, if they prepare more local and northern dishes.
Typical local dishes like Tubani (cooked bean flour cake), Tuo Zaafi, porridge (made from millet) with kose, guinea fowl and other dishes are potential sources of tourist attraction.
The Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) in the Northern Region identified the preparation of local dishes as critical to the development of tourism in the sprawling metropolis.
The Regional Manager of the GTB, Mr William Ayambire, told the Daily Graphic that tourists were not looking out for mighty structures depicting tourist attractions but little things like typical local dishes.
According to him, the tourists enjoyed local dishes more than the residents could imagine and so restaurant operators should capitalise on that opportunity to make more money for themselves and help boost the tourism industry.
Mr Ayambire further indicated that the hospitality of residents towards visitors, including tourists in the area, was a " in itself tourist attraction ".
He expressed gratitude that in spite of the numerous negative publicity about the metropolis, some tourists had, against all odds, ventured into the area only to realise that the situation was not as bad as it was portrayed in the media.
But come to think of it, some restaurant operators in the Tamale Metropolis have indicated that they are now facing stiff competition from wayside food vendors.
Although they contend that they prepare palatable and hygienic dishes that should attract high patronage, they are sometimes disappointed about their daily sales.
Madam Esther Konadu, a restaurant operator, who had been in the business in the metropolis for the past 15 years, told this reporter that all was not well with her and her colleagues in that industry.
According to her, operators in the business faced such challenges as high taxes compared to their income levels, high rent charges, utility tariffs and other commitments that had a negative impact on their businesses.
She denied that the discouraging patronage of their services was due to the fact that their dishes were too expensive to meet the pockets of some residents.
"Our businesses are taking a nosedive due to stiff competition; but we are trying to manage and keep our heads above water," Madam Konadu intimated.
Some food vendors, for their part, noted that the issue of attracting high patronage was not about how expensive the dishes were but how delicious the meals were.
They contended that most of the restaurants preferred preparing more intercontinental dishes for which Maggi cubes are used as spices, while the wayside food vendors used "dawadawa" to prepare their food, which they claim gives the food a natural and better taste.
"In any business endeavour, there is the need for healthy competition, which brings about efficiency," one of the vendors stressed.
Some residents, for their part, noted that there was no need for the restaurant operators to argue over that matter in a free market economy.
"I should be able to buy what I want at any given time; I must not be forced to eat food from the restaurants, whether I have enough money or not," one of them stressed.
According to the Ghana Tourist Board, there were 30 restaurants in the metropolis as of last year.
At a recent workshop on business management for women’s groups including restaurant operators, entrepreneurs and businesswomen, which was organised in Tamale, the participants admitted that they needed to update their knowledge and skills in their respective businesses.
The workshop was organised by the Department of Women (DOW) .The participants were taken through such topics as “What is business”; Business purpose and operations; Characteristics of a successful business owner; Basic record keeping; Costing; Pricing; Marketing; Working capital management; and Management in a small business environment.
The Regional Director of DOW, Mr Issahaku Patrick Seidu Zakari-Saa, told the participants to exhibit a high sense of discipline and commitment to enable them to achieve the desired results in their respective businesses.
He told them to consider failures as part of successes and that they should apply what they had learnt in their respective businesses.
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