We will create a million jobs in three years – Minister of Tourism

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has signed an agreement with the Spanish government to ensure capacity building in the tourism sector.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Ibrahim Mohammed Awal said the sector aims to create one million jobs in the next three years.

It aims to achieve this by training 150,000 people; with a focus on young people and women in different companies.

Spain is known to be the second most visited country in the world and he hopes this partnership will help Ghana learn from its experiences and become the most preferred country for tourism in the world.

According to the Minister of Sector, one in four jobs in Ghana is created in the tourism sector.

Another reason for this partnership is to strengthen the capacities of operators in the sector such as hotels, restaurants, travel and travel agencies.

The minister said this is the reason for the partnership with the Spanish government and the INCYDE foundation.

The INCYDE foundation is a Spanish institution dedicated to the promotion and training of people in entrepreneurship.

This partnership will strengthen the capacity of 120,000 people in the country’s tourism value chain.

He said that “the highest tourist visits we have had in 2019 with 1.1 million people visiting the country and aim for an increase this year and beyond; we want to do tourism with two million visitors every year.

The ministry aims to develop 5% tourism incubators in Ghana this year to improve the sector. The creation of high-tech incubators consists of creating new jobs for the new economy in order to boost the sector and make it more competitive.

INCYDE Foundation International Affairs Representative Mar Casanova Llorens said the agreement will train people who in turn will be in the country to train others as well and will also train entrepreneurs.

She said the foundation seeks to create an ecosystem in the sector by enhancing entrepreneurial skills in the tourism industry.

Spanish Ambassador Javier Gutierrez, Deputy Tourism Minister Mark Okraku Mantey, Ministry Director General John Yaw Agbeko, and other senior staff attended the conference which took place on October 7, 2021.