Takoradi, Jan. 19, GNA – Journalists for Tourism Advocacy (JTA), a Non- Governmental Organization (NGO), which aims to drive tourism growth in the country has been launched in Takoradi.
Speaking at the launch, the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, noted that tourism was one of the few sectors of the country that was sustainable and pledged support for the organization.
He lauded the initiative and said journalists could use their power to position the tourism brand of the country and put it on a higher pedestal.
The Regional Minister reiterated the resolve of the Western Region to become the number one tourism destination of the country, saying, “Western Region has Ghana’s best-kept tourists sectors.”
He expressed the hope that journalists in the Region would be active members of the Association and participate in their programmes and activities.
“For Western Region journalists, this is your baby, you should make sure you are active in reporting the good about the Region. This is one of the good things to come from the West,” he said.
He assured that the Region would position itself to derive the best of benefits from the minds and work of journalists of the Association.
Madam Aya Baidoo, a Principal Administration Officer at the Takoradi office of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), who delivered a speech on behalf of the Regional Director, Mr George Nkrumah Ansere, said when journalists report on tourism, it would help market the tourism potentials of the Region to the international community.
She called on members of the Association and other journalists to liaise with stakeholders to be provided with ample knowledge, skills and information about the Region as far as tourism was concerned.
“As members of JTA, there is the need to provide current and accurate information of a destination based on a personal visit,” she said.
“Journalists in the Region, especially JTA members, should take a keen interest in generating story ideas for Tourism Reporting to expose the potentials of the Regions.
She admonished JTA to concentrate on showcasing the many tourism potentials the Western Region possessed while consistently promoting the message and the products in the face of the Ghanaian and international market.
“People would choose Ghana as a tourism destination and Western Region when they arrived in Ghana if the information and products were consistently available,” she said.
Mr Zambaga Rufai Saminu, Executive Director of JTA, encouraged journalists to identify with tourism and build capacity to understand its fundamentals and dynamics to promote development.
According to him, there were so many growing fortunes of tourism, which journalists could leverage to promote national development.
In that regard, he urged journalists to work in tandem with the relevant institutions to promote tourism in the Western Region.
Nana Akosua Gyamfiaba II, Queen Mother of Nyankrom, spoke about the numerous benefits of tourism and said it united and brought joy to the people.
She stressed the need for the journalists to continuously talk and write about the tourism potentials to whip up interest from the younger generation, saying, “with tourism, we can regain our lost identity.”
Nana Agya Kwamena XI, Chief of Apramdo, who chaired the event, emphasised the need to intensify efforts to derive maximum benefits from the tourists’ sites in the Region.
GNA