The Consulate General of Ghana in New York, USA, on Friday, February 22, 2019, had a formal meeting with local Travel Agents in the New York Area to inform them of reforms and restructuring they intend to implement to ensure efficiency and excellent customer service.

The Consular General, Professor Emeritus Samuel Amoako, expressed his profound appreciation for their work and efforts in helping the Ghanaian community, who are the larger applicants and travellers to Ghana.

The Consular General then took the opportunity to explain and detail to the Agents, the reforms the Consulate General intends to execute.

Every Agent will be required to register their business with the Consulate before March 31, 2019. Any Travel Agent that fails to do so will not be recognized and accorded with the privileges as an agent of the Consulate for visa and passport acquisition. He said.

The Consulate with the new system will have a database of all agent which will assist in monitoring their activities, help the agents receive real-time information on new changes to visa and passport processing, inspection and review of their activities and protect their businesses from other agents not registered with the Consulate.

The changes when implemented will provide seamless ways to acquiring visas and or passports, increase output and provide customer satisfaction for their customers, Professor Amoako intimated.

Professor Amoako was positive that with this new approach, the exorbitant prices charged by some agents will be a thing of the past. Travel Agents cannot charge Fifty percent of the approved fees for visa and passport by the Ghana Consulate General in New York.

The Travel Agents were afforded the opportunity to ask questions and comment on the proposed reforms. Other Officers of the Consulate General, Mr. Bernard Quantson, Frederick Bongne, Frederick Ameyaw and Frederick Frimpong were present to assist with concerns of the Agents.

Aaron B. Duah, a Senior Travel Consultant, of One Travel Club, after the meeting said: “I'm excited about these changes since it will make my work easier and convenient”.

Professor Amoako was positive that with this new approach, the exorbitant prices charged by some agents will be a thing of the past. Travel Agents cannot charge more than Fifty percent of consular application fees.