The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has said a lot ought to be done in developing the tourism value-chain to appreciable standards for Ghana to make the most out of the industry.
He stressed the need for the country to pay particular attention to uplifting tourism attraction sites, build the capacity of stakeholders and develop the infrastructure of the sector.
Tourism was one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, generating substantial jobs and wealth for the people, he said.
“The tourism industry, if well packaged, could bring multiplying benefits to the country even more than cocoa,” the Asantehene said when the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
He said it was important that the Ministry took the training of stakeholders in the industry seriously to improve practices and efficiency for accelerated growth.
The Asantehene called on the Minister to work assiduously to bring his expertise to bear in the discharge of his duties for comprehensive development of tourism.
He charged the staff to support Dr Awal as he sought to spearhead the vision of the Government regarding tourism.
Dr Awal indicated that the Ministry had resolved to work in partnership with the traditional authorities to achieve government’s mission.
He said the Government was investing the necessary resources to uplift tourism, thereby creating jobs for the people.
“Our aim is to ensure that the sector contributed significantly to the Gross Domestic Product,” he said, and with the objective to increase tourism arrivals to about two million by 2024.
The Minister was accompanied by Mr John Agbeko, the Chief Director at the Ministry, and Mr Ekow Sampson, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in-charge of Operations, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).
The others were Ms Mavis Gyasi-Afriyie, the Ashanti Regional Manager, GTA, Nana Matthew Osei Prempeh, Senior Quality Assurance Officer at the Regional GTA Office, as well as Nana Sarfo Kantanka, Project Coordinator, Ghana Tourism Development Project.