German government express interest in establishing a tourim academy in Ghana (Thursday, May 20, 2010 pg )
Tourism Minister, Zita Okaikoi
THE German Government has expressed its commitment to support the establishment of a tourism academy at Axim in the Western Region.
The academy will help train Ghanaians and ultimately help to develop skills in the hospitality industry because of the oil discovery in that part of the country.
In that regard, the German Embassy is collaborating with the Ministry of Tourism and the necessary agencies to work out the form the assistance would take.
The Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Ghana, Mr Hans Christian Winkler, made this known when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, to discuss possible areas of co-operation between Ghana and Germany in the tourism sector.
He said Germany had one of the biggest tourism economies in the world and expressed his country’s preparedness to assist Ghana in its quest to develop the sector and make it more vibrant.
Mr Winkler expressed the German Government’s interest in helping to promote sports tourism, especially water-based sports including scuba-diving, skiing and surfing.
He said Ghana had the potential of reaping a lot from water-based sports if facilities for such ventures were developed.
He said Germany would help develop paragliding in the country by training Ghanaian pilots so that country would not depend solely on foreign pilots during the annual paragliding festival which characterises Easter festivities at Kwahu in the Eastern Region.
Mr Winkler observed that the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, which would pitch Ghana against Germany was also an opportunity to market Ghana in Germany in order to increase the number of German tourists who would visit Ghana.
Even though the tourism sector is the fourth-highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana and makes a huge contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and job creation, it is plagued with several challenges which include poor infrastructure at tourist sites, poor access roads and what some tourists describe as “high visa fees” charged by Ghanaian missions.
The Tourism Minister, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, said her ministry would continue to exploit all avenues possible to develop the tourism sector in order to make it the number one revenue earner for the country.
She commended the German Government for its contribution to the development of Ghana and expressed the hope that the relationship between the two countries would be further strengthened for the mutual benefit of their citizens.
Mrs Okaikoi later told the Daily Graphic that the tourism ministry had developed a number of initiatives which include “the Ghana Family Day”, which was to revive domestic tourism in the country through the development of infrastructure at the various tourism sites.
She said the ministry was also developing a profile of all potential tourist sites in the country to give interested investors an opportunity to know at first hand, what is available at those sites.
Mrs Okaikoi said this year’s Emancipation Day celebrations, which would be held in July, would be different from the usual highlight of slavery routes.
“We would celebrate Ghana’s rich culture with a variety of programmes from dances, food bazaars and costumes from the 10 regions, ” the Tourism Minister said.
THE German Government has expressed its commitment to support the establishment of a tourism academy at Axim in the Western Region.
The academy will help train Ghanaians and ultimately help to develop skills in the hospitality industry because of the oil discovery in that part of the country.
In that regard, the German Embassy is collaborating with the Ministry of Tourism and the necessary agencies to work out the form the assistance would take.
The Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Ghana, Mr Hans Christian Winkler, made this known when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, to discuss possible areas of co-operation between Ghana and Germany in the tourism sector.
He said Germany had one of the biggest tourism economies in the world and expressed his country’s preparedness to assist Ghana in its quest to develop the sector and make it more vibrant.
Mr Winkler expressed the German Government’s interest in helping to promote sports tourism, especially water-based sports including scuba-diving, skiing and surfing.
He said Ghana had the potential of reaping a lot from water-based sports if facilities for such ventures were developed.
He said Germany would help develop paragliding in the country by training Ghanaian pilots so that country would not depend solely on foreign pilots during the annual paragliding festival which characterises Easter festivities at Kwahu in the Eastern Region.
Mr Winkler observed that the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, which would pitch Ghana against Germany was also an opportunity to market Ghana in Germany in order to increase the number of German tourists who would visit Ghana.
Even though the tourism sector is the fourth-highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana and makes a huge contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and job creation, it is plagued with several challenges which include poor infrastructure at tourist sites, poor access roads and what some tourists describe as “high visa fees” charged by Ghanaian missions.
The Tourism Minister, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, said her ministry would continue to exploit all avenues possible to develop the tourism sector in order to make it the number one revenue earner for the country.
She commended the German Government for its contribution to the development of Ghana and expressed the hope that the relationship between the two countries would be further strengthened for the mutual benefit of their citizens.
Mrs Okaikoi later told the Daily Graphic that the tourism ministry had developed a number of initiatives which include “the Ghana Family Day”, which was to revive domestic tourism in the country through the development of infrastructure at the various tourism sites.
She said the ministry was also developing a profile of all potential tourist sites in the country to give interested investors an opportunity to know at first hand, what is available at those sites.
Mrs Okaikoi said this year’s Emancipation Day celebrations, which would be held in July, would be different from the usual highlight of slavery routes.
“We would celebrate Ghana’s rich culture with a variety of programmes from dances, food bazaars and costumes from the 10 regions, ” the Tourism Minister said.
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