An exhibitor, Isabella Akrashie, of Green Life Moringa in her stand with made in Ghana Moringa products at the on-going trade fair
In a bid to eliminate revenue leakages in line with international standards, the Ghana Trade Fair Company has introduced electronic ticketing at the on-going international fair.
Over the years, the company has used a manual system to issue tickets to visitors who visit the fair.
Though the initiative was pioneered last year at the 15th international fair, it was stopped midstream as a result of some technical challenges.
The annual international trade fair, which attracts businesses both within and outside Ghana, is widely patronized by the public who go there to undertake widow, shopping, make business contacts and buy items.
Also, the trade fair site, which is situated on a large piece of land about four times the size of a football pitch, has an open space for outdoor activities.
To gain entry into the fair, non-exhibitors have to pay a gate fee which is determined by the managers of the company and this is announced at the opening of the fair.
Children usually pay a lesser fee than adults before they are admitted into the fair while school children are made to pay a special fee.
Visitors pay an entry fee of GH¢2 on weekdays and GH¢5 on weekends and holidays.
Ebenezer Erasmus Okpoti Koney, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Trade Fair Company, said by using the e-ticketing, the company is able to track revenue and also gather records on the number of people who visit the fair.
“The new system allows us to issue real time tickets and this will help us have records for planning purposes.”
Yaw Asamoah, Chief Marketing Manager, said the GTFC has also contracted a company to fix an electronic gate where people can swipe a card which has a system to authenticate and then allow the user to enter.
“Through this we are avoiding a lot of human interaction and reducing the delays at the gate when people want to enter,” said Mr Asamoah.
The tickets, he explained, “allows a one time entry but you can go and come back within a specific time frame so that if you just entered the fair and you have left something in your car and you need to go for it you can do that without any trouble.”
To prevent counterfeiting, the tickets have security features, which make it impossible for fraudsters to reproduce the e-ticket.
In an interview with City & Business Guide, Mabel Nkum, a student said, “I have been visiting the fair for the past five years and always been in a long queue but this time there was no queue and I am sure it is because of the e-ticketing. They must use it always.”
By Emelia Ennin Abbey
