Coronavirus: Tourism Authority holds dialogue with stakeholders

The Ghana Tourism Authority in it's bid to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Tourism industry has held a stakeholder meeting with industry players.

The meeting, held today March 25, 2020, at the tourist information centre in Accra, was to provide an opportunity for the regulator to deliberate with stakeholders on ways to manage the impact of COVID-19 on the industry which has been hard hit in wake of the pandemic.

The minister of Tourism, Barbara Oteng Gyasi addressing the meeting said she feels heavily saddened by the impact of the current situation on the tourism industry especially when Ghana had made some good gains from the Year of Return initiative in 2019 with expectations of making further gains with a Beyond the Return initiative.

While underscoring the need to take measures to ensure the buoyancy of the Tourism industry during and after the pandemic, the minister called on stakeholders to be circumspect in their demands on government especially at a time when government’s main sources of funds have also been impacted by the outbreak.

The minister said she is going to push for the president's audience to enable the industry players get an opportunity to table their concerns directly to him.

She commended hotel operators and other players who are playing a role in the fight against the disease by making their hotels available to be used as isolation centres for people returning into the country.

The Tourism industry globally has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic as operators in the industry are recording loses by the minute.

In attendance at today's stakeholder meeting were some players from various sectors of the tourism industry including tour operators, airline operators, and hoteliers.

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