The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Catherine Ablema Afeku and her Deputy, Dr. Ziblim Iddi ,as well as other members of the Tourism Ministry, are on a four-day working visit to the Western Region, touring heritage sites and other tourist sites in the region.
Mrs. Catherine paid courtesy calls on the Western Regional Minister and the Paramount Chief of the Essikadu Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia IV.
She also met with other private sector stakeholders within the tourism industry in the region.
She used the opportunity to tell them about government’s intentions of reviving the sector and to make it more attractive to Ghanaians and other tourists from around the world.
She said her Ministry has identified the poor hospitality standards in some of the facilities across the country, which will be addressed.
“The government is partnering some Swiss experts to help address the education and training deficit we see in the industry. Their modules are going to help us train our people to exhibit high customer relations among hoteliers and other related stakeholders. Our trained people will become trainers for others too.”
Some managers of traditional and modern hospitality facilities bemoaned the many taxes and other rates slapped on them in the face of utility hikes and low patronage.
“There is EPA dues, tourism levy, federation dues etc totaling some 18 individual dues.”
“The dues are too many and we wish your ministry could harmonize all of them in the face of the challenges facing the sector,” one hotelier bemoaned.
The Minister revealed plans are currently being considered to harmonize all the rates and also to seek some utility relief for the industry through an LI at the consideration stage in Parliament.
The Minister’s entourage then left for Axim in the Nzema East Municipality where she visited the traditional authority in the Lower Axim Traditional Area. They pledged their support for the Ministry’s vision to revamp some abandoned tourist sites in the Municipality.
It was then the time to visit the Bebo Ayizi Island some five minutes away from the Axim shores. She expressed her commitment to ensuring that the island is developed “to create jobs for our youth in Axim and to generate revenue for government and custodians of the island.”
Her day one visit ended after she and her entourage visited the Fort St. Antonio which has survived the test of time with its legendary artifacts since 1515.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
