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STAKEHOLDERS MEET ON TOURISM BILL

Ghana is to have a National Tourism Law, which will address pertinent weaknesses in the tourism sector by establishing the National Tourist Authority.

The mandate of the Authority would be to regulate the tourism industry and develop tourism in a sustainable manner, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, Minister of Tourism, said on Thursday.
She was addressing a Ministerial Advisory Board and Inter-Ministerial Committee sensitisation meeting on the Tourism Bill in Accra on Thursday.

Mrs Okaikoi said the bill had made provisions for the establishment of a Tourist Development Fund. She said cabinet had approved the Bill and it would be sent to Parliament for debate and passage.
The Minister said the sector was widely acclaimed to hold the potential to establish a new international economic order that would help eliminate the widening gap between the rich and the poor countries, and ensure a steady acceleration of economic and social development.
She said for the country to maximize its share of global tourism, there was the need to critically look at the endemic weaknesses confronting the tourism sector for redress.

Mrs Okaikoi noted that the sector currently generated 1.6 billion dollars making it the fourth highest foreign exchange earner after cocoa, gold and remittances from abroad.
She said it was the target to make Ghana the preferred tourist destination, starting with the West African sub-region and eventually Africa, thus making tourism a leading sector not only in terms of wealth creation, but also to create jobs especially for the youth.
However, "it behooves us to formalize and strengthen the linkages between the tourism sector agencies and agencies that have direct responsibilities for managing these resources".
Mrs Okaikoi also noted that this would enable agencies to coordinate with each other to promote tourism for national development.

Ms Heidi Marie Boakye, Assistant State Attorney at the Attorney General's Department, in a presentation on the overview of the bill said it would address issues like sex tourism, control and promotion of advertisements and tourism enterprise license.
She said the bill also made provision for the establishment of a National Tourism Authority and a Tourism Development Fund.

Events Highlights:

COATARMS

                                                                                                   

Ministry of Tourism

 

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM INVESTMENT FORUM, 2010
“Ghana – Time to Explore, the Role of the Investor in the Tourism Sector”
26th July -1st August 2010

The first ever International Tourism Investment Forum (ITIF) was organized at the Accra International Conference Center under the theme “Ghana Time to explore- the role of the investor”.

The aim of the event was to bring stakeholders in the Tourism sector mainly foreign investors to identify the grey areas in the sector that need investment. The forum which was the first of its kind for the sector was highly patronized by both local and international investors interested in investing in our Tourism sector.


Click To Download The ITIF 2010 Programme

Click To Download Presentations

- Address By The Honourable Minister Of Tourism

- Access To Finance In The Tourism Industry, Dr Edward Addo.

- Opportunities In Tourism Infrastructure Development, Dr. Peter Ankrah.

-Current Challenges, New Ideas And Future Direction For The Tourism Industry, Mr George Ntim.

-Tourism Infrastructure Development, J.B.Lomo-Mainoo

-Investing In Capacity Building And Skills Development, Madam Olivia Tetteh

*Ghana Hosts World Tourism Day

The World Tourism Day aims at fostering awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural and economic values. The UNWTO invites all stakeholders to part take in the celebration on the 27th of September each year. The day celebrates and addresses the significant role tourism can play in creating opportunities for employment that will eliminate poverty in local communities in developing countries around the world.

GHANA has been nominated by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to host this year’s International World Tourism Day in September, 2009. As part of preparations towards the occasion, which seeks to firmly secure Ghana’s position on the world tourism map as a major tourism destination in Africa, a National Planning Committee set up by the Ministry of Tourism has prepared a comprehensive program aimed at spreading the celebration of the event  nationwide

The Theme for 2009 is “Tourism Celebrating Diversity”. The theme will celebrate and highlight the importance of tourism and Globalization.                                                                              

  This will mark the 30th celebration of World Tourism Day, which will be hosted in Ghana.

Some of the Previous World Tourism Day Celebrates and their Themes

  • 1998 - Public-Private Sector Partnership: The Key to Tourism Development and
    Promotion. Mexico
  • 1999 - Tourism: Preserving World Heritage for the New Millennium. Chile
  • 2000 - Technology and Nature: Two Challenges for Tourism at the Dawn of the
    21st Century. Germany
  • 2001 - Tourism: A Tool for Peace and Dialogue among Civilizations. Iran
  • 2002 - Ecotourism, the Key to Sustainable Development. Costa Rica
  • 2003 - Tourism: A Driving Force for Poverty Alleviation, Job Creation, and Social
    harmony. Algeria
  • 2004 - Sport and tourism: two living forces for mutual understanding, culture and
    the development of societies. Malaysia
  • 2005 - Travel and transport: from the imaginary of Jules Verne to the reality of
    the 21st century. Qatar
  • 2006 - Tourism Enriches. Portugal
  • 2007 - Tourism opens doors to women. Sri Lanka
  • 2008 - Tourism sectors respond to challenges of climate change. Peru
  • 2009 – Tourism Celebrating Diversity. Ghana

PREPARATIONS -
A National Planning Committee comprising major stakeholders of the industry, from the Private and Public Sectors has already been formed to plan and see to the successful organization of the event.

HOST NATION PROMISE
By the end of the World Tourism Day Celebration

1.Visitors would have experienced Ghana as a place with warm and friendly people; a culturally rich and diverse destination.

2.We would have  also shared experiences from other  member countries





*Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation

The Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Mr. Francesco Frangialli paid a two-day official visit to Ghana from Monday, 16th to Tuesday, 17th February 2008.

He was on a West African tour to some selected countries in the sub-region including Ghana.

The purpose of Mr. Frangialli’s visit was to meet with Government to take stock of the co-operation between Ghana and the UNWTO and also to discuss in particular the organisation’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty (STEP) programme on tourism and poverty alleviation.

He also paid a courtesy call on the Vice President at which issues on Ghana’s effort at tourism development were discussed.

The visit also afforded the UNWTO boss the opportunity to learn at first hand Ghana’s preparation towards hosting this year’s World Tourism Day Celebration.

Ghana has been selected to host the International World Tourism Day, 2009.
The privilege for hosting this major event provides Ghana the opportunity to be highlighted on the international tourism landscape as well as harnessing the socio-economic benefits of the World Tourism Day event. (click here to view pictures on his visit)

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

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