Tourism Federation holds workshop

Accra, July 3, GNA - Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City, on Thursday said the Ministry and its collaborators are developing a four-year revised strategic plan to enable the tourism sector earn its full recognition. He said under the plan, it is expected that by the year 2007, tourist arrivals would double from the current 500,000 to one million and receipts would increase to 1.5 billion dollars.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey, who said this in a speech read for him at a day's sensitisation workshop for members of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), said that there was no way these targets could be achieved without the private sector's participation. It was organized by GHATOF in collaboration with the Ministry to improve the human resource position of the members. The workshop under the theme: "Professionalism in the private sector: A Necessary Tool in Managing Trade" attracted over 60 participants from various private sector trade associations in the tourism industry. Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey pledged the ministry's preparedness to strengthen the capacity of members to enable them to bring out new initiatives aimed at moulding and redirecting the tourism sector to assume its proper place in the national economy.

Nana Asante Frimpong, Chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Tourism, said tourist operators should engage the services of people with High National Diploma, and other high academic qualifications who are ready to learn on the job and train them to move the sector forward. "Although we need people with higher qualifications, we also need such middle level graduates for effective tourism work," he added. Mr Kofi Baku, Lecturer at the Central University College, called for the authorities to make information available on all tourist spots to encourage tourism. He said for Ghana to attract more tourists, a lot has to be done to improve the electricity and water supply systems, rehabilitate the road network to tourism destinations and improve on the infrastructure at the centres.