Ghana Tourist Board to enforce laws

Tamale, Sept. 29, GNA - Mr Ebenezer Hammond, Northern Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board has said the Board would enforce its laws in the region to improve quality of facilities and services to conform to ECOWAS standards.

He said the Board was using a standard that embraced all ECOWAS countries and that inspectors from those countries would soon carry out inspection on hotel and restaurant facilities and services to ensure that they were upgraded.

Mr Hammond announced this during the official launch of the "World Tourism Day" in Tamale on Thursday, which was on the theme: "Tourism Enriches".

The Day is set aside by the UN to draw attention to tourism and its role in the socio-economic development of nations. The Regional Manager said operators in the industry in the region had often used poverty as an excuse for not improving on facilities and services.

He urged them to upgrade their facilities to avoid termination of licences, saying, "We cannot continue to use poverty as a justification for low standard and lack of control". He said the region would be hosting foreign dignitaries during the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, next year and the African Cup of Nations tournament in 2008.

"We therefore, need to set the right standards that would make the region the preferred tourists' destination," Mr Hammond said.

Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister, who Launched the Day, said in view of the poverty level and the over reliance on subsistence farming, the Regional Administration was looking critically at all options for accelerated economic growth of the area.

He said, "The region is endowed with tourist attractions and therefore has the best potential to accelerate its economic growth in particular and the growth of the country's economy as a whole". He mentioned the beautiful landscapes at Gambaga, the Mole National Park at Larabanga, the slave market and baths at Salaga and the rich cultural dances among the ethnic groups, as some of the endowment of the region.

Alhaji Idris cautioned, however, that there was a thin line between the positive and the negative impact of tourism, saying, if it was not properly planned and implemented on a sustainable basis, the result could be disastrous especially, on the youth

He urged the Ghana Tourist Board to build the capacity of the youth to prepare them for the opportunities made available by the industry to help them from being swayed into social vices.