Tour Guiding and Community Homestay

Who it is for. Beginners with no formal certificate, including school leavers, women's groups and persons with disabilities. National Proficiency I is the first level of Ghana's TVET framework. This is the first of three levels; later levels teach tour design, pricing, licences and running a company.

Why tour guiding and homestay

• The Western Region coast around Akwidaa, Busua, Butre, Dixcove, Axim and Cape Three Points was named a tourism region and its seven communities got tourism training and marketing support.
• A 2026 report noted that the region lacks a tourist information centre and that many craft centres and eco-lodges are under-promoted. A trained local guide fills that gap.
• Ghana has a national body, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), that registers and licenses tourism businesses, including guides and home lodges.
• Guiding on foot and by canoe is physical work. Hosting, cooking, crafts and booking suit many more people, so there is a place here for almost everyone.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 70% of the time is practical: walking the routes, role-plays, a practice homestay and a business plan.

What you will read in every unit

• Tools and materials, and where to get them.
• Numbered steps in a Practical box. Do them with a partner.
• Mistakes and fixes: what usually goes wrong and what to do.
• Exercise, homework and Check yourself (3 quick questions).

Words for guests

Akwaaba means welcome in Akan. Fante is a dialect of Akan, and the greetings found were written in Twi, so some words differ in Fante. Learn the Fante forms from an elder in your own town and write them in the table.

Tone changes the meaning of Akan words and spelling varies, so ask a speaker to say each word aloud.

Competency standard

Range. A group of 4 to 8 guests on a short local walk. Evidence. Observed welcome and briefing; oral questions; logbook.

What a guide does

A guide leads guests, keeps them safe, explains the place and links them to local people who earn from the visit. The Ghana Tourism Authority's guide training in 2018 taught these topics, which make a good picture of the work: tourism in focus, tour guiding today, tourism enterprises, the tour guide at work, role, function and ethics, the tourism product, tools of the tour guide, communications, presentations and interpretation, and industry safety and security.

A tour in nine steps

This is course method, and every later level builds on it.

1. Prepare. Walk the route yourself. Note toilets, shade, drinking water, phone signal and where to turn back. Check the tide, weather and sea or lake conditions. Phone to confirm opening times.
2. Welcome. Stand where everyone can see and hear you. Say your name, "Akwaaba", how long the tour lasts and what you will see.
3. Safety talk (60 seconds). Footwear, sun, water, stay behind the guide, the meeting-point phone number, 112 for emergencies, what to do if lost.
4. Check the group. Count heads. Ask quietly about health, walking ability, fears, swimming and children.
5. Tell the story in short chunks. At each stop: what you see, one fact, one human story and one question for the guests. Keep each stop under about 3 minutes.
6. Answer questions. Listen fully, repeat the question, answer honestly. If you do not know, say "I do not know, I will find out" and ask an elder or the museum.
7. Manage time and group. Lead from the front. Ask a helper to walk at the back as the "sweep". Count again at each stop.
8. Close. Thank the guests, summarise, ask for a review and show local crafts, food or homestay.
9. After. Write the day's notes and any incident. Note what to improve. Thank the host community.

Tools and materials

Conduct rules for every guide

These are course rules (course method), made to protect guests and the community.

• Greet elders first. Use your right hand. Ask the chief or an elder before you bring a group into a community.
• Photos. Ask adults before photographing them. Ask a parent before photographing a child. Never photograph people in distress or inside sacred spaces. Do not post a child's face online without permission.
• Children. Tell guests not to give sweets, money or pens to children. Suggest a community fund or buying from local makers instead.
• No orphanage visits. Never take guests to an orphanage or children's home as an attraction. In Ghana, one 2009 study cited in a news report found that up to 90% of 4,500 children in orphanages were not orphans, and the Department of Social Welfare closed over 60 illegal homes in 2018.
• Sacred places. Ask permission. Remove shoes or hats if asked. Follow local taboo days, for example the Thursday rule at Nzulezu (see Unit 2).
• Protected animals. Never buy or sell turtle shells, bushmeat or crafts made from protected species. Sea turtles are fully protected under Ghana's Wildlife Conservation Regulations 1971 (L.I. 685). See the Conservation and Wildlife manual.
• Honesty. Say which facts are documented and which are stories or estimates.

Common mistakes and fixes

Exercise: plan your timing

Check yourself

1. What are the first three steps of a tour?
2. What must you do before photographing a child?
3. Why should you never take guests to an orphanage?

Competency standard

Range. Sites in the Akwidaa, Busua, Dixcove, Princess Town, Beyin and Cape Three Points area. Evidence. Site fact sheet; phone-call record; route plan.

How to use this unit

Only facts that were checked are written here. Where a fact is unknown, it says not verified. That is the honest way to guide: tell guests what you know, and say what you do not. Facts about each site must be confirmed by phone before you promise a visit.

Who looks after what

The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) looks after forts. Its Central and Western Regions office is at Cape Coast Castle, telephone +233-3321 32529. The head office is at 2 Barnes Road, Adabraka, Accra, +233-303944028 or +233-303944030, official@gmmb.gov.gh. Tourist sites must register with GTA under L.I. 2393 and have a governing board that oversees day-to-day safety.

Fort fees

The GMMB fees page lists these prices for forts and regional museums, but it says they are "prior to the recent revision" and gives no date. Treat them as last published and confirm before you quote a price.

The page does not say which fort belongs to which group; the forts are presumed to be in the "forts" group, which is not verified.

Site fact sheets

Fort Metal Cross, Dixcove

• The British began Dixcove Fort in 1692, partly to reach gold in the interior and to win English traders away from a nearby Brandenburg fort. The people of Infuma besieged it and delayed completion. By 1750 it could carry up to 25 cannons.
• The gold proved impure. It was used as a ship-repair and timber station and, during the slave trade, as a slave prison. The Dutch took it in 1868 and the British regained it in 1872.
• Opening hours given by GMMB: 9:00 to 16:30. Fee not on that page. The fort is currently leased to a private organisation, so do not promise interior access without a call.
• Other travel pages give different dates. Teach the GMMB version and say "sources differ".

Fort Gross Friedrichsburg, Princess Town

• It stands on Manfro Hill between Axim and Sekondi-Takoradi. A Brandenburg expedition reached the coast in 1681 and the fort was built around 1683 to 1684 (sources differ). It had 32 cannons when completed.
• The Akan merchant John Canoe (Konny) resisted the 1717 sale of the fort to the Dutch for about seven years. The Dutch took it around 1724 to 1725 and renamed it Hollandia. They handed it to Britain in 1872.
• A Ghanaian-German archaeology project studies the Brandenburg forts at the invitation of the communities of Princes Town and Akwidaa.
• The "300,000 people passed through" figure is a popular estimate and is not verified. Say "estimates vary" or leave it out. Hours and fee for this fort: not verified, so phone first.

Fort Apollonia and the Museum of Nzema Culture and History, Beyin

• The English built it in 1768 on Cape Apollonia with the permission of the Nzema chief Amenihyia. It was the last fort the English built on the Gold Coast, and it was abandoned in 1819 after the slave trade ended.
• The museum opened on 30 October 2010. Hours 9:00 to 16:30. Beyin lies about 90 km west of Takoradi in the Amansuri wetland.
• The fee on the GMMB page was last reviewed in February 2013 and is out of date. Ask GMMB for the current fee.

Nzulezu stilt village

• Nzulezu is on Lake Tadane near Beyin, about 90 km west of Takoradi. It is reached only by dugout canoe, about one hour from the Beyin visitor centre. The guided canoe fee is paid first.
• A visitor account says Thursday is sacred to the lake and no one works on or uses the lake that day. Confirm locally before planning a Thursday visit.
• Life jackets are provided, but visitors suggest bringing child sizes. A tip to a household you enter is suggested by one account.
• The ticket price (20 cedis in one undated listing) is not verified. Nzulezu is on the UNESCO tentative list, which means it is proposed, not inscribed.

Cape Three Points and the lighthouse

• The Portuguese named it Cabo Tres Pontas around 1471. It is the southernmost point of Ghana. The local name Atinkyin means "the salt has been taken out".
• The first light was lit in 1875 by the British. The present tower is reported as completed in 1925 (one source says about 1930, so sources differ).
• The lighthouse is an active aid to navigation. Visiting hours and fees are not verified.
• Ghana's first Marine Protected Area was planned for Cape Three Points with 21 communities. Whether it was inaugurated in April 2026 is not verified, so check before you tell guests.
• Community patrols watch sea-turtle nesting on a 23 km stretch with three key sites: Cape Three Points, Beyin and Akwidaa. Rules for tourists watching turtles were not found. Ask the Wildlife Division or the community patrol; see Conservation and Wildlife.

Ankasa

• Ankasa Conservation Area can be reached from the Sowodadzem entry road, about 120 km from Takoradi and 22 km from Elubo. It was described as not yet developed for tourism but can be hiked. Gate fees and the managing agency are not verified. Phone first and carry cash.

Forts and sites you may not know

Butre and Axim forts were not researched for this module. Say "not verified" and ask the GMMB Cape Coast office.

Tools and materials

How to confirm a site by phone

1. Find the number: GMMB office, the site caretaker or the community chief.
2. Greet, say who you are and that you bring guests.
3. Ask: opening days and hours, price for each guest type, how many guests at once, whether a local guide is required, toilets, and any closed days or taboo days.
4. Write the answers, the name of the person and the date.
5. Repeat the answers back to check.
6. Tell your guests the date you checked: "I checked on 3 October."

Common mistakes and fixes

Exercise: build the day

Check yourself

1. Which body looks after the forts?
2. Why must you phone before promising entry to Fort Metal Cross?
3. What do you say when you do not know a fact?

Competency standard

Range. One fort or lake story, told to a group. Evidence. Observed story; role-play; logbook.

Fact, story, question

At every stop, use three parts (course method).

1. A thing to see. Point to it so guests look.
2. A fact. One checked fact, such as a date or a name.
3. A human story. One person: a trader, a chief, a worker or a family.
4. A question. "What do you think they felt?" or "What would you do?"

Telling the slave-trade history with respect

These rules are course method, with the sources noted.

• Treat forts as places of suffering. Guests, especially those whose families come from Africa, may go quiet or cry. Wait. Do not joke, do not rush, and do not sell crafts inside dungeon areas.
• Warn first. Before entering a dungeon or a room of suffering, tell guests what they will see and that they may stay outside.
• Use "enslaved people", not "slaves". The words carry the person, not just the condition.
• Say what is documented. Building dates, owners and numbers of cannons are documented. Counts of people and some stories are estimates or oral accounts. GMMB's own words for Dixcove, "used as a slave prison", are safe to repeat.
• Tell the local story too. African traders, chiefs and communities took part in the trade, and communities also resisted: John Canoe at Princess Town, and the Infuma sieges at Dixcove.
• Keep to one version. Sites give different dates. Teach the GMMB version and say "sources differ".
• Do not invent. No Ghana-specific official guide to interpreting slavery was found. UNESCO's Slave Route project aims to break the silence on the slave trade and to help people understand its causes and results. Ask GMMB for guidance.

A model 3-minute story (Fort Metal Cross)

Read this, then write your own for a different place.

"Look at the cannon holes on this wall. The British began this fort in 1692. They wanted gold from the interior, and they wanted English traders to leave a nearby Brandenburg fort. The people of Infuma attacked it, so building was delayed. The gold they found was not pure, and one writer called the place a fake mint. Later the fort held enslaved people before they were sent across the sea. It was also a place where the Dutch and British fought over the coast. If you stand here quietly for a moment, what do you think a person held here could hear?"

Notice the facts, one people-story and one question.

Handling difficult situations

Use these scripts (course method). Practise them in role-play.

Common mistakes and fixes

Exercise: sort fact from estimate

Check yourself

1. What word do you use instead of "slaves"?
2. Name the four parts of a good stop.
3. A guest cries in the fort. What do you do?

Competency standard

Range. A coastal walk with a canoe or lake trip. Evidence. Observed safety talk and role-play; oral questions.

Emergency number

Dial 112 for police, fire and ambulance. The government announced 112 in January 2020 and said 191, 192 and 193 were no longer effective, though some foreign sources still list them. Local police, clinic and hotel numbers for Akwidaa and Takoradi were not found. Write them on a card by phoning the police station, the clinic and your host hotel.

Rip currents

• A rip current pulls away from the shore, not under the water. Do not fight it. Float or tread water, swim parallel to the shore until free, then angle in. Wave and call for help.
• Do not go in after someone. Alert a lifeguard, throw something that floats and call emergency services. The guidance says 911; in Ghana, call 112.
• A study of the Ghana coast found many drownings, especially on public holidays, and 37% of people asked said they would swim in a dangerous rip location.
• A travel guide says rip currents occur at Busua with no permanent lifeguard. In March 2023 a visiting student died after a midnight swim there.

Your rules for guests (course method): swim only in daylight, never alone, never after alcohol, and ask a local before entering the water. If in doubt, stay on the sand.

Boats, canoes and lake trips

• Ghana's Maritime Authority (GMA) says life jackets are a legal requirement for all waterborne travel. Its Director-General said there was no direct penalty on passengers who refuse, but operators sign an undertaking. A new rule to make life jackets compulsory on inland water was being processed as of August 2026.
• The GMA reported 42 deaths in nine accidents between 2024 and June 2026. Its subsidised life jackets cost GH¢250 each.
• Course rule: no life jacket, no boat, for every guest and every guide, children included. Never exceed the canoe's safe load. No night trips and no storm trips.

Sun and heat

• Heatstroke is life-threatening. Signs: hot red dry skin, confusion, rapid weak pulse. Move the person to shade, cool them with wet cloths and give sips of cool water. Call 112 if they vomit, refuse water or lose consciousness.
• Drink water often, not only when thirsty. Avoid alcohol in the sun.
• If a person is not breathing after drowning, start CPR if you are trained; if they are breathing, place them in the recovery position. Treatment of sunburn: not verified; send the guest to the clinic or pharmacy.

Health reminders for guests

A guide is not a doctor. Remind guests that proof of yellow fever vaccination is required for travellers aged 9 months and older arriving in Ghana, that antimalarial medicine, bed nets, long clothes and repellent protect against malaria, and that they should see a provider before travel. Refer anyone who feels unwell to a clinic. Local clinics near Akwidaa: not found; ask your host.

How to call 112

1. Stay calm. Move to where you have signal.
2. Dial 112.
3. Say: "My name is __. We are at __ (place and landmark). A guest is __ (what happened)."
4. Say how many people are hurt and whether they are breathing.
5. Do not hang up until told. Send a helper to the road to meet the ambulance.
6. After: write down the time, what happened and what was done.

Tools and materials

Common mistakes and fixes

Exercise: load and water

Check yourself

1. What do you do if caught in a rip current?
2. What number do you call for police, fire and ambulance?
3. What is the course rule about life jackets?

Competency standard

Range. Group of up to 8 guests. Evidence. Day book; booking forms; role-plays.

Know your costs

A tour has costs. Write all of them before you set a price.

Price with a 20% margin (all example): 340 × 1.20 = GH¢408 for six, or GH¢68 each. The margin pays for your own risk, repairs and thinking time.

Handling cash

1. Count the money in front of the guest.
2. Say the amount aloud.
3. Give a receipt (carbon book or phone photo) with date, amount and what it was for.
4. Put cash in a separate bag from your own money.
5. At the end of the day, count and write the day book.
6. Pay partners (boatman, craft sellers, host) the same day.

Using mobile money

Mobile money charges and commission norms in Ghana were not found, so check your network's current rates. Course method:

1. Give your own number or merchant number clearly, in writing.
2. Ask the guest to send the deposit.
3. Wait for the network's confirmation SMS on your phone and check the name, amount and time. A screenshot from the guest is not proof.
4. Write it in your day book and send a short receipt.
5. Never give your PIN to anyone. Never "send back" an overpayment before you check your balance on the network.
6. Keep a separate wallet or notebook page for tour money.

Taking a booking

Use a WhatsApp or paper form with: guest name and phone, date and time, number of guests (and children), place and meeting point, price per person, deposit paid and balance due, special needs (mobility, swimming, food), and cancellation rule. Course method.

Sample confirmation message (course-written):

"Hello Ama, your half-day walk is booked for Saturday 12 December, 8:00 am, at the meeting point at the Akwidaa junction. 6 guests, GH¢68 each, GH¢408 total. We received your deposit of GH¢204. Balance GH¢204 on the day. Please bring sun hat, water and closed shoes. Call me on __ if you are late. Akwaaba!"

Check every field before you send.

Cancellation and weather

Write your rule on the form: for example, a cancelled trip because of bad weather or sea is rebooked or refunded; a guest who cancels late loses the deposit (example rule). Say this at booking, not at the last minute.

Common mistakes and fixes

Exercise: deposit and change

Check yourself

1. What proves a mobile money payment?
2. Name three things on a booking form.
3. Why should you pay the boatman the same day?

Competency standard

Range. One guest room in a family home. Evidence. Room checklist; hosting role-play; oral questions.

For cleaning, bed-making, food service and guest care in detail, see the Hospitality Services manual. This unit adds what is special about a home.

Licence and the law: what you must know

• Under the Tourism Act 2011 (Act 817), GTA registers and licenses all tourism enterprises. GTA's list includes hotels, guest houses, hostels, home lodges, restaurants, travel agencies and tour companies.
• Operating without a licence goes against section 25(2) of Act 817, and GTA said unlicensed places would be closed.
• In October 2023 the GTA Western Regional office closed about 40 facilities in the region that had not registered, with police help. Some were closed for not paying the 1% Tourism Levy.
• Home lodges and other accommodation come under the Tourism (Registration and Licensing of Tourist Accommodation Enterprise) Regulations, 2016 (L.I. 2239).
• Not verified: the exact legal definition of a "home lodge", the minimum standards, and any fee. These could not be read. Visit or phone the GTA Western Regional Office before you take a paying guest. GTA head office lines reported: 0302985069 and 0307007100.
• GTA says the process is: register, then an inspection and assessment, then a licence.
• Short-term rental listings online (for example Airbnb-type listings) have their own provisional licence rules; whether a homestay falls under them is not verified.

A model checklist

Ghana has no homestay standard that was found. A neighbouring region's standard is a useful checklist. The ASEAN Homestay Standard (2016) covers nine areas: the host, accommodation, activities, management, location, hygiene and cleanliness, safety and security, marketing, and sustainability. This is a foreign model, used as a prompt, not Ghana's law.

Prepare the guest room

Tools and materials: clean sheets and pillowcases (two sets), a mosquito net or window screens, a fan or window that opens, a lockable door or cupboard, a bedside light, a bin with lid, clean towels, drinking water in a flask, a toilet that flushes or a clean latrine and a bucket of water, soap, a door key, a room card with Wi-Fi (if any) and 112.

1. Remove everything not for guests; air the room.
2. Sweep and mop. Wipe all surfaces.
3. Make the bed with clean sheets; tuck corners tight.
4. Check the net or screens for holes; fix them.
5. Put water, soap, towel, toilet paper and a small bin in place.
6. Check that the light, fan and lock work.
7. Clean the toilet and bathing area; wash hands.
8. Check smell, dust and insects by walking in as a guest would.
9. Put a welcome card with your name and a house rules page.

Host the guest

1. Meet them at the junction or gate. Say "Akwaaba".
2. Show the room, toilet, bathing place and where water comes from.
3. Explain house rules: meal times, quiet hours, visitors, smoking, shoes, locking the door.
4. Tell about the community: greetings, dress, photos, sacred places, taboo days.
5. Ask about allergies, diet, health, and what they hope to do.
6. Offer water and, if agreed, a meal. Safe drinking water and cooked food only.
7. Give your phone number and the emergency card.
8. Respect privacy. Knock and wait. Do not enter the room without notice. Keep their passport and bags private; do not post their photos without asking.
9. Ask each evening how the day went and plan the next.
10. Say goodbye warmly, ask for a review and a tip for the family or community fund if they wish.

Food at home

• Use clean water, wash hands, cook food through, cover leftovers, keep raw and cooked food apart. See the Hospitality Services manual for service.
• Ask about allergies first. Do not serve food you would not eat yourself.
• Keep a simple menu of local dishes you cook well. Offer a cooking lesson if the guest wants it.

Guest safety at home

• A working lock on the guest door and a key.
• No open flame or cooking stove inside the guest room.
• A torch in case of power cuts.
• A fire plan: know the exit and where the water is.
• Never leave a guest's valuables unattended. Tell guests to lock their things.
• Treat a child guest with extra care; no unsupervised child alone with an adult guest. If you suspect a child is in danger, call 112.

Common mistakes and fixes

Exercise: cost one night

Check yourself

1. Which body licenses home lodges?
2. Why should you not enter a guest's room without notice?
3. Name three things in a guest room.

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own business plan. Evidence. One-page plan; costing sheet; listing draft.

Where guests are

The West Coast has seven communities that received tourism training: Akwidaa, Axim, Busua, Butre, Cape Three Points, Dixcove and Miamia. Assets include Nzulezu, forts at Axim, Dixcove, Butre and Princess Town, and the Busua surf schools. Road access to Cape Three Points was reported as poor in one personal blog (summary only; not verified).

Location settings that give good returns

Business ideas and ingenuity

None of these should start without checking licence rules. Guide, accommodation and tourist-site licences are handled by GTA. In 2018 GTA began training, registering and licensing tour, site and coach guides with the Tour Guides Association of Ghana (TORGAG), and the Western Region zone met on 10 to 12 October 2018. The licence fee, exam format and minimum qualifications were not found. An unofficial page says forms, a fee, possible training and photos, a CV or a first aid certificate are commonly asked, but these are not confirmed GTA requirements. Ask the GTA Western Regional Office and TORGAG. Visitors can also ask a guide whether they are GTA-registered and to see the licence.

Cost and price a half-day walk

Use the worked example in Unit 5 (GH¢340 cost, 20% margin, GH¢408 for six, GH¢68 each; all example). Then check what other guides and hotels charge, and write the date.

Market yourself

• A name and a simple card with your name, phone, languages and what you offer.
• Google Business Profile is free to add or claim. Verification is often by postcard. For tours with no fixed address, use a service-area listing.
• TripAdvisor owner listing is free. Check whether a listing already exists, and use the same name, address and phone on both platforms.
• WhatsApp (course method): a profile photo, a short description, prices and a clear way to book. Keep a broadcast list for past guests.
• Reviews. After each tour ask happy guests for a review. Reply politely to all.
• Ask GTA about a place in its directory of licensed enterprises once you are licensed.
• Hotel desks and surf schools. Leave a card and ask what they need.

Accessibility and inclusion

Guiding on foot and by canoe is demanding. Interpretation, a crafts desk, cooking, hosting and booking suit more people, and deaf guides can lead visual tours. For deaf visitors, access to information in sign language is important, and employing deaf guides and offering video tours with sign interpretation are cited as good practice. Blind visitors benefit from tactile models and audio guides. Standards and guidelines for accessible tourism exist, including ISO 21902:2021. Accessibility of forts and boats in Ghana is not verified; phone to ask. See the Sign Language and Assistive Technology manual for deaf-guide training.

Task and adjustment table (course method).

Common mistakes and fixes

Check yourself

1. Name two business ideas from this unit.
2. Where can you list your tour for free?
3. Name one role suitable for a deaf trainee.

1. Name the nine steps of a tour in order.
2. Who looks after the forts, and who licenses tourism businesses?
3. Why should you phone before promising entry to a fort?
4. What word do you use instead of "slaves"?
5. Name the four parts of a good stop.
6. A guest cries in the dungeon. What do you do?
7. What do you do if caught in a rip current?
8. What number do you call in an emergency?
9. What is the life jacket rule?
10. What proves a mobile money payment?
11. Name three things you check in a guest room.
12. Name two places to list your tour for free.

Best next reads: the Hospitality Services manual; the Conservation and Wildlife manual; the Sign Language and Assistive Technology manual; the next levels of this course. Phone GTA Western Regional Office and GMMB Cape Coast for current fees and rules.

What this module does not cover: designing a full tour, group pricing and licences (Level 2), registering and running a company, insurance, accounts and staff (Level 3), and turtle-viewing rules, which were not found. The full cleaning and food service steps are in Hospitality Services.

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.