Pageant to develop youth interest in tourism

Accra, May 21, GNA - The Ghana Association of Travel and Tourists (GATTA) has instituted a pageant to encourage young ladies between 20 to 25 years to be interested in the development of tourism.

The pageant was being promoted under a project dubbed: "Golden Face of Ghana" which is aimed at enhancing tourist experience and increasing tourists' expenditure by 30 percent.

Mr Godwin Pinto, President of GATTA, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the project would also help to develop and promote tourism sites and products to increase opportunities for wealth creation in host communities.

The project would facilitate the development and promotion of selected tourism products for an initial period of two years, ensuring that selected sites meet international standard and impact positively on the community.

He said ladies selected for the project would do a research on tourism products; work with chiefs, communities, NGOs and a professional tourism team to prepare a framework for the development of selected projects.

Mr Pinto said the best three proposals presented would be selected as projects to be developed and would be promoted over a period of two years.

"The presenter of the best proposal will be the icon of the Golden Face OF Ghana project and would be named the worthy ambassador for tourism within the period", he said.

Mr. Pinto, who is also the Executive Director of Connect World Travel and Tours, said tourism was capable of providing secondary income-earning opportunities for the economically vulnerable in society, including the unskilled youth, subsistent farmers and fishermen. He urged corporate organizations and individuals to support the project and help promote Ghana as the preferred tourist destination.