[ 2015-12-21 ]

15-yr dev’t plan to drive tourism growth
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Art,
Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has revealed that her
ministry is rolling-out a 15-year development plan
to transform the sector into a major source of
revenue.“
In the face of stiff competition from other
countries, there is a need for us to raise our
game by transforming the tourism sector in order
to rake in the needed foreign exchange.

“In this regard, the ministry with technical
support from the World Tourism Organisation has
developed a comprehensive 15-year Tourism
Development Plan that aims at clearly positioning
tourism as a major pillar of Ghana’s economy.
This calls for accelerated and concerted efforts
from all sector industry players,” she said.

Mrs. Ofosu-Adjare made these comments at the 11th
National Tourism Awards 2015 in Accra, which were
under the theme ‘Rewarding excellence through
healthy competition’. The awards seek to reward
excellence and ethical business practices within
the tourism sector.

This year’s event saw about 30 companies and
individuals in the sector recognised for their
various contributions toward growth of tourism in
the country.

As part of this agenda, the ministry has already
developed a Tourism Development Fund to provide
support for the sector’s growth.

The country abounds with numerous tourism
potentials, but poor service delivery coupled with
lack of investment and infrastructure has over the
years denied the looked-for revenue from this
sector to the country.

The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to
gross domestic product was 3percent of total in
2013 and in 2014 raised to an estimated 9.7
percent, representing a rise of 4.5 percent, as
recorded by the Travel and Tourism, Economic
Impact 2014 Ghana.

Also, in 2013 Travel & Tourism directly supported
124,500 jobs -- 2.3% of total employment in that
year; and went up by an appraised 7.4 percent the
following year, an increase of 2.5percent of total
employment in 2014.

The Acting Executive Director of the Ghana Tourism
Authority, Charles Osei Bonsu, noted that tourism
is a very delicate and competitive industry that
requires consistent regulatory supervision around
the clock, saying: “This is because at any point
in time we are in competition with the over-200
countries and territories which constitute various
tourism destinations in the world.

“We don’t have any choice but to compete, and
the National Tourism Awards is one of the
activities we use to ensure our diverse and
discerning visitors obtain value for money,” he
added.

Source - Bus & Fin Times

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