Tourism Practitioners engage Chinese Interpreters

From Hannah Asomaning, GNA Special Correspondent, Beijing, China

Beijing, China, April, 14, GNA - Ghanaian Tourism Practitioners, including officials of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ghana Tourists Board on Sunday engaged the services of Chinese interpreters to enable them to market Ghana's tourism potentials effectively to Chinese tourists. The industry players are in Beijing to participate in the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, an exhibition that provide a platform for tourism industries around the world to meet and show their attractions.

Ghana has about 12 participants from the private sector in addition to officials of the Ghana Tourists Board, led by Mr. Martin Mireku, CEO of the Board and the sector Minister, Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng. Countries participating in the fair include: Ethiopia, Thialand, Philiphines, Egypt, Ukraine, Brunei and United Kingdom and some tour companies and consultancies.

Mr. Roy Graff, Consultant for Speed Ghana, a tourism development company, facilitating Ghana's participation in the fair told the GNA that the interpreters were engaged because of the language barrier. He explained that even though the Chinese would like to see tourism attractions in Ghana and other parts of Africa, there was the need to engage interpreters who could explain things to visitors who came to the fair. Mr Graff said the company made use of Chinese students majoring in English to do the interpretation. To enable effective communication, the interpreters met with the various tour operators to be briefed on the activities.

The Ghanaian participants had also designed brochures in the Chinese language to enable the Chinese visitors to read about the attraction sites and other tourism products in Ghana. The participants had also mounted advertising messages in the Chinese language at the stand. Mrs. Bridgette Katsriku, Chief Director of the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations said the tourism industry had a huge potential in the emerging Chinese market.