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The Okere District Assembly is striving to become a tourist hub to attract year round visitors to the district.
This should contribute to job creation and improve the socio-economic well-being of the population.
As part of the agenda, the Assembly said it had identified more than 10 potential tourist sites with compelling historical backgrounds to exploit and develop into modern tourist destinations.
Identified tourist sites include Bosompra Forest Reserve and Waterfall at Abiriw, the legendary Okomfo Anokye Shrine which includes his birthplace and the famous Oware created by Okomfo Anokye with bare hands in Awukugua.
Others are; the slave route and the market of Abonse, the waterfalls of Akaa, Apirede and Asenema, an umbrella rock and a commonly called fertility rock (obosabea) located near the falls of Akaa.
All these natural and huge potential tourist spots have not received the necessary appeal due to the lack of promotion and investment to make the place receptive and attractive for local and foreign tourists to frequent over the years.
Mr. Daniel Kenneth, the District Chief Executive (DCE), who made this known in an interview with GNA, said that with tourism potentials plentiful, “there is no doubt that one of the main factors that would drive our local economy is tourism and we are ready to continue this program until the logical conclusion.
Using the Asenema Waterfall as a fulcrum in the tourism campaign, the Assembly, in collaboration with the Ghana Tourist Authority (GTA), has planted over 500 species of Rosewood, Prekese and Mahogany to create a therapeutic garden at the Asenema waterfalls to beautify the region. as well as promoting ecotourism.
Additionally, planting the trees was a strategic decision to make the year-round fall site resistant to non-climatic stressors and provide jobs for the teeming youth of the area while creating an indirect market for others. commercial activities within the enclave.
The DCE said that the assessment of all sites and plans is underway to develop specific intervention strategies in accordance with the guidelines and standards of the Ghana Tourism Authority.
He called on investors to join the Assembly “as part of a sound public-private partnership strategy”.
As part of the program to improve tourism, he said that the hotel industry is also growing at a faster rate, mentioning Safari Valley Resort Hotel located in Abiriw, Ridge Nest Hotel and Lord & Larbi Hotels located in Adukrom, the district capital. .
The story goes that the legendary Okomfo Anokye, who is believed to be the founder of the golden stool of the great Ashanti kingdom, was born in Awukugua in the Okere district.
His birthplace and the exact room he was born in have been preserved as a shrine, and the many wonders he performed in the area before settling in the Ashanti area have all been documented.
Okomfo Anokye is believed to have created an Oware with his bare hands in Awukugua and on his journey to Kumasi he passed through a forest in Apirede and was moving, his footprints remained visible to date.
Another interesting tourist site identified for development is a slave route and market in Abonse. According to records, the site was used as a slave route as well as a slave market during the slave trade era and all historical records have been preserved.
The descent of the Okere region is dotted with gari production in addition to agriculture, along the main Somanya-Adukrom-Koforidua road and it is expected that with investment in the sector tourism, the ripple effect would create a market for the production of gari and many businesses to improve the local economy.
The Okere District Assembly was formed from the North Akuapem Assembly and inaugurated in March 2018 as one of the seven new districts created in the Eastern Region.
It is made up of seven major cities, including Abiriw, Dawu, Awukugua, Adukrom, Apirede, Aseseeso and Abonse and more than 120 farming and satellite communities.
The tourism industry in Ghana is known to promote sustainable tourism, which includes cultural tourism, heritage tourism, and recreational tourism, among others.
Many heritage tourist sites highlight the heritage of the diaspora and the social makeup of communities.
Figures from the 2019 GTA Tourism Report show that the country has earned more than $ 3.312 billion from tourism. However, the country lost billions of dollars in revenue due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020.
To secure one billion domestic tourists each year, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is set to generate around $ 5 billion from the tourism industry by December 2022.
The ministry is therefore pushing domestic tourism to revive the sector after the devastating impact of the coVID-19 pandemic.
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