The World Bank has approved a US$40 million grant to support the Tourism Ministry and its agencies to help upgrade tourist facilities, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
According to him, Ghana has not been able to attract as many visitors to the country despite how often Ghana has been in the news for good reasons.
Speaking at the 2019 State of the Nations Address (SONA), he said , “We are making a special effort from now onwards to attract tourists into our country.”
President Akufo-Addo also made it known that Under the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana campaign, the Ghana Tourism Authority recorded a 20% growth since its launch to over six hundred thousand visitations to various tourist sites.
Touching on the ‘year of return’, President Akufo-Addo said, “In September 2018, in Washington D.C., in front of the Congressional Black Caucus of the United States Congress, I proclaimed 2019 as the "Year of Return”, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first 20 West African slaves in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in what was to become the United States of America.”
He stated that Ghana will use the commemoration to re-unite Africans, persons of African descent and all well-wishers and lovers of freedom in order to strengthen the commitment to ensuring that Transatlantic Slave Trade and slavery never reoccur.
“In response to this proclamation, some seventy (70) African-American Hollywood celebrities visited Ghana in December 2018. The year-long campaign, being coordinated by the Ghana Tourism Authority, is expected to increase arrivals considerably,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo indicated that training across the entire tourism sector was also receiving priority, adding that the Hospitality Training Institute has been renovated, and re-opened in July 2018 to provide needed training in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Under a Tourism Attractions Upgrade Project, he said that several tourist sites, including Elmina Heritage Bay, Axim Fort St. Antonio, Assin Manso Slave River, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Bunso Arboretum, Kintampo Water Falls, were undergoing upgrades.
“A draft Legislative Instrument (LI) on Sites and Attractions is currently undergoing final stakeholder consultations. This will ensure world-class standards are set and maintained at all our tourism sites and attractions,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo noted that although Ghana had castles and forts, waterfalls, some dramatic mountain ranges, nice beaches, and historical sites that will attract visitors, the greatest attraction of our country was the welcoming attitude of its people.
“We should never forget that we all have a responsibility to make visitors to our country feel welcome,” he said.
“In this “Year of Return”, when we have invited the world to visit, I would urge each one of us to make a special effort to make a visit to our country a memorable one. Our music, our foods, our clothes and the quintessential akwaaba smile will make a visitor to our country come back again and again,” he added.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com