The W.E.B Du Bois Centre earlier today, gathered all stakeholders within the tourism industry, for a breakfast meeting to discuss progress of the Tourism sector in Ghana with the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, for tourism in Ghana.
The Stakeholder Engagement Forum was organized by the ministry to inform stakeholders about the initiatives that were undertaken by the Ghana Tourism Authority and projects that have been endorsed to primarily boost tourist visits to Ghana and patronage of tourist sites by Ghanaians. These updates were outlined by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr. Akwasi Agyeman.”We are engaging all agencies that will help us beautify tourist sites and make access to those tourist sites easy.” he stated.
At the commecement of the session, the Executive Director of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, Kinsley Ofosu Nitiamoah, listed a number of sites within the country that await Ghanaians and the diaspora and would soon be opened to the public to add up to revenue gains of the nation. “Most people think that the only forts we have are the Elmina and the Cape Coast castles; there are about 28 forts that are listed under the UNESCO board Heritage sites in Ghana.” he hinted.
Stakeholders during the interactive session, listed mode of customer services, airline prices and transportation and also the engagement of the youth as constant issues within the nation that are possible threats to Ghana’s goal of reaching $6 billion dollars by 2026 as estimated in the Destination Ghana Project.
The Minister of Tourism while speaking on the 4 year long project which was launched this year to enhance tourism and increase its contribution to the to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), requested for the active participation of all stakeholders in the industry to bring in the estimated revenue by 2026 . “Our goal is that in the next three-four years we would be getting $6 billion dollars mininum by getting at least 2 million people to come to Ghana touching arrivals; by 2026, Tourism in Ghana should bring $6 billion dollars into the country but we cannot do it alone, we need your active participation.”
Stakeholder agencies like the Ghana Hoteliers Association, Ghana Airports Company, African Tourism Research Centre, Ghana Tourism Federation and others graced the occasion with astute representatives to help make tourism in Ghana a trip worth taking.
Dr. Awal commeded all agencies under the auspices of the ministry and also stakeholders for a good work done by making Ghana a globally recognized tourism-friendly country and encouraged all agencies to make room for more advancements in the tourism sector.
By: Kobina Baidoo