By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi\u00a0<\/p>\n
Accra, Sept. 13, GNA \u2013 The Government targets four-billion dollars as contribution to the national economy by the tourism sector, making it the number one contributor to Ghana\u2019s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Mr Mark Okraku-Mantey, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture said it was necessary for all industry players to pool resources,\u00a0 build their capacities and explore technologies to market their products on the African Continental Free Trade Area to generate more revenue for Ghana.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Akufo-Addo wants to make tourism the number one contributor to Ghana\u2019s GDP and make Ghana a hub of tourism in West Africa. He has given us a target of USD 4 billion by the year 2024,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Okraku-Mantey said this when he delivered the key note address at the media launch of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) as part of strategies by the National Commission on Culture and the Tourism Ministry to make the industry a tool for development and wealth creation.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is on the theme: \u201cReviving Patriotism, Peace and Unity through Cultural Diversity for Sustainable Development.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Government has a target of two million tourists visiting Ghana annually and this would be achieved by projecting the country\u2019s rich culture to increase the tourism drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe celebrate the National Festival of Arts and Culture because it promotes unity, peace and tourism. We cannot attain all that we want from tourism without our culture,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCulture is the raw material for the creative industry and the creative industry is the product we use to sell our tourism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Madam Janet Edna Nyame, the Executive Director, National Commission on Culture, said NAFAC had, cover the years, contributed to the artistic and socioeconomic development of the State.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis year\u2019s theme enjoins us to situate our Ghanaian culture, norms, values and practices at the centre of our developmental agenda,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In all aspects of national development, there was the need to pay attention to the impacts of culture on Ghana\u2019s efforts to achieving the desired outcomes, Madam Nyame said.\u00a0<\/p>\n NAFAC was the brainchild of the late Dr Alexander Atta Yaw Kyerematen, in what he began as \u2018Cultural Experiment\u2019 in 1960.\u00a0<\/p>\n This grew into a \u2018National Treasure\u2019 and in 1962, the first National Festival of Arts was held at the Asante Cultural Centre.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Centre was renamed the Ghana National Cultural Centre following Ghana\u2019s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah\u2019s visit there in 1963.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a biennial event, it had not been held after the last edition in 2019 due to\u00a0 the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, this year\u2019s edition comes off on December 9-16, at Cape Coast and\u202fwould have on board a competition of performances between the 16 regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0NAFAC 2022 is also in\u00a0 honour of the memory of its founder, the late Dr Alexander Kyerematen as his legacy had lived on after 60 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n GNA\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Culture-Tourism-GDP.jpg\")
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