By Caleb Kuleke
Ho, Dec. 10, GNA- Mr Dela Gadzanku, Chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) for Eastern, Volta and Oti, has urged the private sector to get involved in the growth of the tourism, cultural, and creative arts industries in the Volta Region.
He said the Sixth Volta Trade and Investment Fair prioritised tourism, culture, and the creative arts because of the region’s potential in those areas.
He said the private sector held the key for the turn-around of the tourism sector.
Mr Gadzanku, speaking at the Second Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture Forum, which formed part of the Sixth Volta Trade and Investment Fair activities, said globally those industries were driven by the private sector.
The Chairman said the tourism, culture, and creative arts industries were also a part of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) priority areas.
He urged the various stakeholders to join forces to promote those sectors for accelerated socio-economic development in the region.
The forum was on the theme: “Leveraging the AfCFTA to Boost the Tourism, Creative Arts and Cultural Sectors of the Volta Region.”
Mr Daniel Agboka Dzegede, Executive Director of Volta Development Forum (VDF), emphasised the importance of the media in highlighting the region’s many tourism opportunities.
He stated, “We need a wide spectrum of media both local and international to constantly and aggressively propagate the good news about Volta region’s tourism potential” in order to draw more tourists to the area and support its tourism-related businesses.
Mr Dzegede stated that tourism was gold and needed to be pursued with the requisite zeal and dexterity.
He said tourism was essential to the socio-economic growth of the region, so deliberate efforts must be made to improve the tourism destinations, properly package and advertise them, and draw in more visitors.
He called for a concerted effort to build, market, position, and brand the region’s numerous tourism destinations in its various towns and districts.
The Executive Director also stressed strong public-private partnerships that would ensure that the region’s tourism potential was fully utilised.
He said the VDF had mapped out the entire potential for tourism in the region and was working with the Ghana Tourism Authority on specific measures to turn the industry around for the betterment of the area.
Mr Dzegede said to help them develop their capacity in the areas of tourism investment, rebranding, and hospitality management, they were now working with the Barbados High Commission and a few other organisations from that nation.
GNA