As part of efforts to promote domestic tourism in the country, the National Executives of Africa Tour Operators Alliance (ATOA) have initiated moves to engage authorities and industry players to create avenues for the sustainable promotion of tourism at the local level.
The team made up of the Technical Head of ATOA, Gideon Asare and Events Manager of ATOA, Michael Ako Nai paid a courtesy call on the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah to discuss the best ways and means to revamp tourism activities in the resource endowed region.
Mr Gideon Asare, who is also the Managing Director of Adansi Travels announced during the engagement with the Minister, that capacity building would be carried out by ATOA through periodic training of members, coupled with effective teamwork to catapult tourism in the country.
According to him, the organization intends to drive the African agenda through tourism whilst leveraging on individual strengths through partnerships, cooperation and effective collaborations.
He mentioned that ATOA would translate the collective effort of industry players into results-oriented gains for the benefit of all members, the country and the continent.
He said the intention and purpose for the establishment of the organization, primarily revolves around the potential of the tourism industry in Africa which must be strategically tapped.
He argued that tourism has the potential to deal with the growing phenomenon of unemployment in the Western Region, Ghana and the African continent provided the industry is well harnessed.
On his part, Michael Ako Nai assured the Minister of the commitment of ATOA to unveil new destination products in the Ghanaian market to improve the fortunes of domestic tourism in the country.
He called for a concerted effort from stakeholders to achieve this herculean task with the tacit involvement of all travel agents, tour operators, hospitality industry suppliers and Aviation industry managers, who are all keenly working strategically along the value chain of the tourism industry in Ghana and Africa.
He, therefore, called on those who are industry players and have been sitting on the fence to join the Africa Tour Operators Alliance.
He divulged that the organization has been established in Ghana ostensibly to create a united front, and that unique platform required to make available a bigger voice and the network that would drive the tourism industry in Ghana with speed and ultimately advance the course of development in the African continent.
Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, who welcomed the team to the region, assured them of his commitment to support the Alliance to succeed in an endeavor geared towards transforming the tourism industry in Ghana.
He said, as part of his vision to create employment opportunities in the region, he would partner with relevant organizations including ATOA to change the narrative and introduce programs and projects that would project the sector to grow.
He said although his administration, and the region, had set the target of leading tourism growth in the country, the emergence of COVID-19 out of the blue thwarted that effort.
According to the Minister, in 2019, the Western Region beat the Ashanti Region and became Second Best in the country, while keenly following the Central Region which has since been at the top spot.
He touched on various initiatives carried out by his administration to promote sustainable development of tourism in the Region and the country with emphasis on empirical data to influence the performance of all programs and projects being undertaken by both public and private institutions working together in the interest of the tourism industry.
He said his administration has had direct contacts with officials from Spain, France, Canada and Nigeria since last year for closer collaborations to increase inbound and outbound traffic volumes in the Region.
He advised the Executives to partner with credible institutions, build new networks in and outside of the country in order to learn best practices, new techniques, gain experience, and secure relevant and necessary information to sustain their operations.
This, he noted, would serve as an anchor for ultimate sustenance of the campaign being waged to broaden the tourism industry in that once broadened, the sector would create new opportunities which will be capable of attracting the patronage of facilities to increase revenue generation.
