The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) – the statutory national tourism regulator and other frontline analogue tourism statutory institutions, stakeholders and players in the tourism nomenclature, including the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB), the National Commission on Culture (NCC), the National Theatre of Ghana (NTG) and others are aware of defects in the National Tourism Development Strategy and blueprint; and are therefore working assiduously around the clock, with proactive and action-oriented pragmatic steps and processes to address the noted defects in the sector to reposition and make Ghana an attractive and competitive international tourism destination hub
Dr. Seth Adjei–Baah, the Board Chairman of the GTA Governing Board, said this in an exclusive interview with the Business & Financial Times (BFT) Tourism Desk yesterday in Accra.
The GTA Board Chairman was reacting to an article published in the October 27 issue of the B&FT, which pointed to issues of and defects in Ghana’s tourism development strategy and legal regime.
Dr. Adjei-Baah, who is a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkawkaw and also former President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, asserted that the GTA and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) at large are not oblivious of gapping defects in Ghana’s Tourism Development Blueprint, as a major obstacle that has retarded and obstructed Ghana’s tourism development, resulting in Ghana’s still and stunted growth and progress over the years.
According to the GTA Board Chairman, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, is an action-oriented man who is working hard to turn Ghana’s tourism fortunes around with an ambitious target to make tourism the foremost contributor to gross domestic product (GDP). He indicated that as a practical action to achieving the laudable and ambitious target, the minister has prioritised and called for collaboration among all tourism sector agencies.
Dr. Adjei-Baah said MOTAC, the sector minister, tourism sector implementing agencies and their boards are all tasked to undertake regular, strategic joint meetings as a pragmatic approach to address loopholes and defects in the national tourism development strategy for holistic national tourism development.
The MOTAC implementing agencies boards’ strategic and collaborating meeting, according to Dr. Adjei-Baah, is organised by the GTA Board and coordinated by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GTA, Mr. Akwasi Agyeman.
GTA Board Chair revealed that the most recent MOTAC implementing agencies collaborating meeting took place on 28th October, 2022.
