Accra, Nov. 19, GNA – The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has begun a five-day nationwide training programme for operators in the accommodation, food and beverage industry.
The training, under the theme, “Ghana Cares Obaatanpa Project,” is to build the capacity of the operators to improve standards in the hospitality industry.
Mr Ben Anane Nsiah, Director, Product Development and Investment, GTA, at the opening, said the project included capacity building training of about 10,000 people in the hospitality industry for a period of 18 months.
He said the training was aimed at enhancing and equipping the operators with the requisite skills and knowledge to be able to properly manage their establishments and facilities.
“Government can do all the nice things by building airports, roads among others but if the last man who is interfacing with the customer does not deliver professional service at the level that is internationally competitive, then we undermine our competitiveness as a destination,” he stated.
Mr Anane Nsiah explained that, the GH¢100 billion “Ghana CARES Obaatan pa” Programme was a three and a half-year comprehensive programme to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, return the country to a sustained path of robust growth and to create a stronger, more resilient and transformed economy.
He said “Government’s overall vision and medium-term priorities set out in the National Tourism Plan has been prioritised under the programme with a proposed funding of GH¢100 million to the sector over three years.”
“This priority is to ensure investment and development of infrastructure, marketing, improving supply-chain links, enhanced capacity of key tourism institutions and actors and improve coordination with the private sector for job creation and economic expansion,” he added.
Mr Anane Nsiah said the intervention was specifically expected to increase tourist arrivals, increase jobs in the tourism sector and increase tourism’s contribution to GDP by two per cent by 2023.
He said participants would be taken through topics such as customer service, product knowledge and digital marketing.