Stakeholders in the tourism sector calls for gov't support

Stakeholders in the tourism sector are not happy with government for not putting in more effort to ensure the nation takes full benefit of the vast tourism potentials of the country.

This was made known at the first Cedi Tourism Fair 2013 organized by Coaster Events at the National Theatre.

Mr. George Spencer Quaye, CEO of Coasters Events, said other countries are making billions of dollars in the tourism sector, but same cannot be said of Ghana even though it is said to be one of the largest contributor to our GDP. He bemoaned the little budget that is being allocated to the sector as not enough and calls on government to do more.

He wondered why government is refusing to invest in the sector which has the chance to change the livelihood of Ghanaians as Ghana is endowed with numerous tourist sites and world heritage sites which are not even known by the people.

He called on government to support Ghanaian businesses and said it’s about time government puts in place a policy action and create an enabling environment for business.

He blamed the Ministry of Tourism for not living up to expectations and called for a new and experienced minister to be assigned to the ministry to boast of its efforts in showcasing tourism in Ghana.

“The Ministry must understand that they need to do more education. We invited the ministry here, but they did not show up because they are abroad representing Ghana at the World Tourism Fair, but we need to understand that we need to prepare the country for people to come before we sell it out to them outside”

Mr. Quaye was worried about the nature of sanitation in the country with filth engulfing every corner of the cities. “We need to educate the people about filth and keep a clean environment with tourism in mind and how it can change their lives and generate income for all”

He said Ghana is the most stable in the sub-region, but it is not benefiting in terms of tourism, adding that the Tourism sector is the largest employer because there are a lot of job opportunities in there than even oil and gas.

He said the reason for the Cedi Tourism Fair was to bring development to the tourism sector by creating job opportunities because the sector has the potential to do so.

Some of the exhibitors at the fair were Ghana Free Zones Board, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Africa World Airlines, Royal Senchi Hotel, Nick Hotel, Beige Village, and Angie Hill Hotel among others.