82,000 tourists visited Kakum Park last year

Cape Coast (Central Region) - Eighty-two thousand tourists visited the Kakum National Park in the Central Region last year, Cletus Nateg, Senior Wildlife Officer in-charge, said on Monday.

Nateg who did not disclose the amount accrued, was briefing the Minister for Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, at Cape Coast as part of his three-day familiarization tour of the region.

He said the Park serves as an entertainment and educational centre and also helps in creating awareness on the need to save the environment, especially the forest. Nateg said most communities around the Park have had their transportation problems solved with the construction of good roads.

Earlier, the Regional Coordinating Director, Roger Angsomwine, had briefed the Minister and his entourage about tourism attractions in the Cape Coast and Elmina areas and their problems.

Obetsebi-Lamptey later called on the Omanhene of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta 11, at Cape Coast and Nana Kwadwo Conduah V1, Omanhene of the Edina Traditional Area, at Elmina.

The Minister appealed to the chiefs and elders to support the Government to achieve its aim to develop tourism in the two areas. Osabarimba Kwesi Atta appealed to the Government to ensure that a percentage of revenue generated from the castles at Elmina and Cape Coast were given to the people for development.

The Minister visited the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles and the Gramophone Museum Centre at Cape Coast.