Tourism Minister asks MMDAs to re-engineer tourism industry
Ms Akosua Sena Dansua, Minister of Tourism at the weekend urged the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strike fruitful partnerships with private and corporate institutions to re-engineer the tourism infrastructure.
This, she said, was the necessary recipe for the tourism sector to reap full dividend.
Ms Dansua asked the MMDAs to fashion out strategies to revamp the tourism industry and promote domestic tourism, which she said is a major priority of the Ministry.
Ms Dansua gave the advice during a tour of tourist sites in the Volta Region, which was a prelude to the national observation of World Tourism Day celebration, to be hosted at Tafi-Atome, in the Hohoe Municipality, slated for Tuesday, September 27 on the theme: “Tourism-Linking Cultures.”
The tour attracted members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade and Tourism, Diplomats from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Benin, Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago as well as Ms Priscilla Asare, reigning Miss Tourism and her colleague contestants.
The team visited tourist sites in the Kpando District and Hohoe Municipality including Kpando Torkor markets and Volta Lake loading site, Grotto at Agbenoxoe, Togbui Dagadu’s palace and Wli Waterfalls.
She noted that investment into the sector by the MMDAs would not only create jobs and improve on revenue but also engender domestic tourism and promote national cohesion and development.
The Minister said the purpose of the tour was to expose the tourism potentials of the country to the Foreign Embassies for possible partnerships and radical development of the sector.
Ms Dansua observed that public-private collaboration could facilitate the early completion of the Wli Tourist Receptive centre, which was started in 2003.
At the Torkor landing site, she appealed to boat owners and operators to avoid overloading their boats, which is a major cause of accidents leading to loss of lives and property.
Togbui Dadagu VIII, Paramount Chief of Akpini enumerated the diverse tourism landscape of the area including German relics, the grottoes and accommodation facilities in his palace, which are more than 400 years old.
He added that culture, dance forms, handicrafts, wood carving, clay and metal works are some characteristics of the district.
Dr Mrs Margaret Kweku, Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive and Mr Francis Ganyaglo, Kpando District Chief Executive eulogized the tourism potentials of their areas, christening them as the “Home of Tourism.”
Mrs Pavelyn Tenclai Musaka, Zimbabwean High Commissioner to Ghana lauded the tourism potentials at the countryside, saying with the right partnerships and impetus it would place Ghana firmly on the international tourism map.
Source: GNA