Mr Ekow Sampson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), says the Authority would provide the needed boost to help revive and sustain domestic tourism in the country post-Coronavirus.
He said the Authority in spite of the disruptions of COVID-19 era, had been very keen on promoting Ghana’s domestic tourism sector and is leveraging technology to showcase same to the world.
“We believe that it is indeed time for us to make Ghana the place for domestic tourism and investment in progress and prosperity and not where our youth flee in the hope of accessing the proverbial greener pastures, for a better life in Europe or the Americas.”
Speaking at a Press soiree to mark the 10th anniversary celebration of the Roots Hospitality International, an apartment hotel in Accra, Mr Sampson said the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the GTA in collaboration with the private sector, the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) had initiated several moves to whip up interest in domestic tourism to enable Ghanaians appreciate arts, culture and engender cross cultural exchange amongst people.
He said tourism was one of the fastest growing sectors of the Ghanaian economy with linkages to various sectors, providing employment to several young people and creating an avenue for national development.
“In the face of stiff competition with other destinations in Africa and the world at large, it is imperative that we do things right to attract the needed tourists to Ghana in order to rake in the substantial foreign exchange and also derive the full benefits of such initiatives.”
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Ghana’s Tourism, Mr Sampson noted, could also boast of rich vegetation and an inexhaustible supply of mineral wealth, idyllic pristine and white sand beaches, political and economic stability, forts and castles, abundant wildlife and national parks, traditional festivals, large repertoire of foods, spectacular unique sites and attractions, among others.
He also stated that a strategic plan had also been put in place to boost domestic and sub-regional tourism, with some of those measures including sensitization and public education, and the initiative by private sector tourism associations such as GHATOF, TOUGHA, TORGAG, CRAG, Ghana Hotels Association, to provide discounts and rebates to groups and individuals in order to encourage travel by tourist.
Mr Sampson said the sector Ministry and GTA had also put in place plans to train industry practitioners across the length and breadth of the country to ensure sustainable tourism.
He advised management of Roots Apartments to ensure that the objectives and strategic plan of the company dovetails into promotion of domestic and regional tourism, and urged them to deliver quality services to clients in lieu of the Tourism Customer Service Week that was launched last week.
Mr Hussein Fakhry, Chief Executive Officer, Roots Hospitality International, said the 10th anniversary celebration was laced with activities that celebrate arts, music and culture, including, special live band shows, an art exhibition and a tree planting exercise.
