GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOP TOURISM — Nyamekye-Marfo (page 15, sept 28)

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has given the assurance that the government will do everything possible to develop the tourism industry, since the sector has the potential to raise revenue for development.
He said infrastructural development was paramount to promoting tourism in the country, saying, “Tourism is an income earner for many countries and so we need to take steps to develop it properly because people will travel from abroad to patronise our tourist attractions”.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance when he addressed the Brong Ahafo Regional celebration of this year’s World Tourism Day held in Sunyani, which was on the broader theme, “Tourism- Celebrating Diversity”.
According to the regional minister, the other key parameters to boost the tourism potential of the country were the availability of decent hotel accommodation and the best catering services to attract tourists.
He pointed out that while striving to please tourists from outside through the provision of attractive and serene environment as well as dishes of their choice, there was the need to uphold the cultural values of the country by serving local meals alongside continental dishes.
The regional minister also advised that those employed by hotelliers and caterers to provide services to tourists should be clean, look smart and presentable, pointing out that some of the employees were an eye-sore because they did not observe personal hygiene, thereby discouraging their clients.
He also noted with concern that armed robbery had been a disincentive and a threat to tourism in the country but gave the assurance that the government was committed to stemming that menace and that with the collective responsibility of the security agencies as well as individuals, the problem could be overcome.
In his global message, Mr Taleb Rifai, the Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) emphasised that in addition to the role of globalisation in balancing tourism influx, environmental and cultural sustainability of nations, this year’s celebration was aimed at shedding light on the human side of the industry.
He noted that there was increasing awareness of tourism’s role as a productive activity and its undisputed potential to generate employment, government revenue and other benefits, whether directly or indirectly.
“Tourism is a global industry and as such has a responsibility to make positive contributions worldwide. The huge variety of local customers co-exist all over the world, be they in the languages, religions, architecture, food, politics and natural environments”. Mr Rifai observed.
That diverse environment, he said, had allowed the travel and tourism industry to thrive and become the largest force in the service sector, thus, the theme highlighted the varied environment which was central to tourism.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Sunyani, Mr Kwasi Oppong Ababio stressed that the tourism industry now needed people with business-like attitudes and positive customer care behaviour. “You should also know the history of your own locality and people very well to enable you to offer the best services to them”, he added.