Ghana soccer to be made tourism product
An initiative to market football in Ghana as a tourism product is being promoted under a public-private sector partnership.
Dubbed “Ghana ‘4’ Gold South Africa 2010”, the project is building on the soccer laurels of the Ghanaian national teams to sell the country’s investment and tourism potentials to the international community.
The project is being organized by Dream Africa Ghana Limited, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC).
Project coordinator, Kwabena Adjei believes Ghana is at the threshold to reap economically from the country’s recent soccer feats by attracting tourists into the country.
He told Luv FM that the campaign will kick-start in April 2010 with the launch of a photo journal dubbed “Soccer in Ghana”. Mr. Adjei says “this book would be attached with a Ghana investors and tourists’ directorate, which would be marketed globally, especially in South Africa during the World Cup. We will make it widely available so that any tourist who comes there must take one home to know much about Ghana football”.
Series of events, including seminars, mini trade fairs and musical concerts have been lined up to hold alongside the book distribution.
Mr. Adjei called on government and corporate Ghana to invest in the tourism sector in the same way as is being done in the sports sector. “Government and corporate bodies are supporting the sports industry all the way and nothing holds them down. Why can’t they do the same thing for the tourism industry? Sometimes you look at the budget for the tourism industry and you wonder if the government is serious, so government needs to be up and doing.
“The tourism industry has a lot of potentials. If investors come, where would they put their money? Is it not the banks? So why are the banks not supporting the tourism industry? … you spend so much money to build a hotel but when you’re asked to support a tourism event, you shy away. So what will bring customers to your hotel? Mr. Adjei asked.
The “Ghana ‘4’ Gold South Africa 2010” will be launched officially in Kumasi next month.
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
i think this is a nice initiative to promote the stars to a higher level and attain the best that is the world cup throphy
Sir,
I do accept that is not ordinarily not nice or polite to correct other people’s language and grammar . I also accept that there is a veritably emerging “Ghanaian English”.
However , we cannot as a nation expect to become economically competitive without us being competitive in various little but contributory areas. In short, the whole is simply the sum of the parts. If we use English as a language then we must use it properly.
Lee Kuan Yew , the former PM of Singapore , told his people back in the early 1960s that if they are to use English as a national language they will have to speak and write it well. See where that little bit of advice got them.
English is the official language of Ghana . Yet so many people, including journalists of all people, seem to regard it as a foreign language which of course then becomes an excuse to speak and write it sloppily.
I get really irritated when Ghanaian journalists – especially on this website – constantly write about economic “POTENTIALS” . There is no such word as “POTENTIALS” in the English language – only ” POTENTIAL !
You can talk about several sectors of the economy – agriculture, tourism, industry – and say they all have Potential but not ” potentials” You can also say the tourism sector has much – or a lot of – potential but not potentials !!
I have seen written several times in the Ghanaian press, reports about foreign donors giving ” foreign AIDS” – not the disease but a ridiculous plurality of foreign ” aid ” !!!
When it comes to football, each time I read about a team “loosing” rather than “losing” I throw my hands in despair for my country.
So please Sir, as for ‘dis one mom die, I de beg you oohh :
no more ” potentials ” only potential.
Yours sincerely,