2019 HERITAGE PARAGLIDING TO KICK START ON APRIL 19TH IN KWAHU

The Ghana Tourism Authority will be organizing the 2019 Paragliding Festival from Friday, 19th April to Monday, 22nd April, 2019 on Mount Odweanoma at Atibie – Kwahu in the Eastern Region.

The Paragliding festival is being organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and is under the theme: “HERITAGE FUN AND FLY”. The theme for this year’s celebration is in connection with the ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019’ project which the President of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo – Addo launched infront of the congressional Black Caucus of the United States Congress in September 2018. 

The ‘Year of Return’ is a global campaign to invite our brothers and sisters of the Global African family who were taken to Jamestown, Virginia 400 years ago, to come back home (Africa and that matter Ghana) to reconnect, invest and to help develop their roots etc.

The Paragliding festival which is one of the flagship events on the tourism calendar is organised to coincide with the Easter festivities, and draws domestic and international tourist to Kwahu.

The food court and the roads leading from Atibie Junction to Odweanoma (take- off area) in Kwahu – Atibie has been expanded to provide comfort for patrons and easy movement of cars, with new pavement blocks at the take-off site.

Paragliding plays a vital role in boosting domestic tourism thereby creating opportunities for job such as the sale of artifacts by the local residents. Moreover, facilities like home lodges, drinking bars, traditional catering establishments and transportation service among others, will also generate revenue to boost the local economy.

The rate for a flight is three hundred and fifty Ghana cedis (GH¢ 350) and six hundred Ghana cedis (GH¢ 600) for two, provision has also been made for group tickets for corporate organisations and also VIP tickets.

Activities for the 2019 Paragliding Festival are as follows:

    Thursday, 18th April, 2019 – courtesy call on Nananom.

    Friday, 19th April, 2019 – pouring of libation at Odweanoma Mountain, Atibie; opening ceremony and flying of passengers from 9am to 6pm.

    Saturday, 20th April, 2019 – flight continues from 9am to 6pm.

    Sunday, 21st April, 2019 – Health walk; flight continues; closing ceremony.

    Monday, 22nd April, 2019 – flying continues from 9am to 2pm.

Other activities lined up for the event include health walk, fun games, and indoor games. There will also be live music to entertain patrons and sale of food, souvenir, and tour packages.

Thirteen (13) paragliding pilots will be participating in the ‘2019 Heritage Paragliding Festival’, they include, eleven tandem pilots (pilots who carry passengers) with one female and two solo pilots (pilots who do not fly passengers) from Ghana namely Jonathan Quaye and Michael Kwakye (based in Switzerland). The tandem pilots are mainly from USA, Japan, Peru and Germany.

Sponsors for paragliding include GT Bank, Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Free Zones Authority, Phoenix Insurance, McDan Shipping and GIHOC Distelleries, Ghana Export Promotion Authority and Ghana Immigration Service.

Media partners include; GTV/UNIIQ FM, GNTV, ATV, HAPPY FM and OKAY FM.

Major stakeholders such as the Ghana Tourism Development Company, Meteorological Services Department, the Ghana Ambulance Services, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces are each playing a specific role to ensure a successful festival.