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Ghanaians have been encouraged to patronize local tourism to boost tourism and help relieve the country of the negative economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the sector.
According to the Ghana Tourist Authority (GTA), the pandemic has negatively impacted tourism growth, job creation and the livelihoods of communities that depended on tourism, as in 2020 countries were forced to shut down their borders and to ban international travel as part of measures to contain the devastating pandemic.
Addressing a rally to commemorate World Tourism Day yesterday in Wli in Hohoe Municipality in the Volta region, GTA Deputy Director General for Technical Services Mr. Ekow Sampson said the travel and tourism industry could not return to pre-COVID-19 arrival levels through 2023, as predicted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which is why only domestic tourism could support tourism growth.
“They say charity starts at home, so it’s important that we get what we have good enough to make it attractive and appealing to foreign tourists,” he said.
World Tourism Day
September 27 of each year has been designated as World Tourism Day by UNWTO to raise awareness of the social, cultural, political and economic value of tourism and the contribution the sector can make to achieving the goals of sustainable development (SDGs).
UNWTO said COVID-19 has had a massive social and economic impact as both developed and developing economies have been affected.
Therefore, this year’s commemoration, under the theme: “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”, aimed to help revive tourism to revive recovery and growth.
Decreased income
Mr Sampson said Ghana had not been spared and had seen its income from tourism decline, revealing that in 2019 tourism generated $ 3.3 billion with 1.1 million tourist arrivals, but that it had dropped sharply to 355,108 arrivals and received $ 387.1 million when COVID-19 hit last year. .
In addition, the figures for tourist arrivals and receipts fell by 68.5% and 88.3%, respectively, while the average tourist expenditure, which stood at $ 2,931, also fell sharply to reach 1,090 dollars over the same period.
In addition, domestic tourism statistics have also increased from around 669,000 visitors in 2019 to around 200,000 in 2020.
Promotion of domestic tourism
To improve statistics, Sampson said, the industry would build on the enthusiasm of Ghanaians to visit most tourist sites to narrow the gaps created by global travel restrictions.
“To generate interest in domestic tourism, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, together with the executing agency, GTA, in collaboration with the private sector, the Ghana Tourism Federation, as well as professional associations, launched the campaign: ‘Experience Ghana, share Ghana’, to enable Ghanaians to appreciate our tourism, hotel, artistic and cultural potential and to generate intercultural exchanges between us as a people ”, he hinted.
MoU at tourist sites
Mr Sampson said passing the tourist sites bylaw gave communities with tourist attractions the opportunity to partner with the GTA to develop the sites.
This, he explained, has offered the GTA, communities, traditional authorities, city and district assemblies the opportunity to manage the sites together to promote sustainability.
He said the GTA is committed to honoring memoranda of understanding signed with some communities to develop and modernize tourist sites in the Volta region.
Hiking on the Afadzato
As part of the Inland Tourism Patronage Campaign, the Volta region has instituted the Afadzato Hiking Challenge, which is to be held annually to increase the interest of citizens to visit the mountain for activities there.
The first edition, held this year, saw the participation of around 65 people, with Bright Lartey coming out on top, climbing the mountain in a record time of 25 minutes.
Rejuvenate the tourism value chain
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Mr. Mark Okraku Mantey said this year’s global commemoration of the day is being held in Côte d’Ivoire on the same theme to highlight the approach participatory approach to create and ensure wealth creation and poverty reduction. and improve livelihoods.
He said tourism for inclusive growth means creating decent jobs through tourism and unleashing the potential of tourism through its value chain to create sustainable opportunities for the industry.
Mr. Mantey said the World Bank’s Tourism Development Project provides funding for the rejuvenation of the tourism value chain, including hostels, lodges, traditional chop bars, car rentals and lodges. fashion industry, and that the history of tourism would soon be different in the country.
Volta region, tourism hub in Ghana
Volta Regional Minister Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa noted that the choice of the region for national commemoration was important, as it was noted for its many tourist spots.
He named some of the sites to include ancient European forts, forests rich in biodiversity, pristine beaches, rolling mountains with numerous waterfalls, a unique monkey sanctuary, festivals, among others.
He said that while the region can boast of being Ghana’s tourism hub, unfortunately tourism development in the region has been relatively slow.
He therefore called for collaboration among stakeholders to positively improve the narrative on the development and promotion of tourism in the region.
“Together, state institutions should be seen to play a more active and leading role in the areas of identifying, packaging and marketing tourism potential and also providing some basic infrastructure. , such as roads and the power grid, for the development of tourism resources, “he said.
As part of efforts to promote the region to the nation and the world, Dr Letsa took the opportunity to announce that the fifth Volta Trade and Investment Fair will take place from November 15-28, 2021.
With the #VisitExperienceGhana, he invited stakeholders in the tourism sector to visit the Volta Region and participate in the fair.
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