Bolgatanga, Dec. 20, GNA – The Upper East Regional Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has trained operators in the hospitality industry to improve service delivery.
The training, held in Bolgatanga, falls under the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation Revitalisation Enterprise Support (Ghana CARES) ‘Obaatanpa’ programme.
The frontline office executives of hotel facilities, waiters and waitresses, drinking and ‘chop bar’ operators, marketing executives of travel and tour agencies, car rental and tour guides across the region were trained in customer care, tourism product knowledge and digital marketing.
Mr Richard Agyenim Boateng, the Delivery Unit Coordinator of the Ghana CARES ‘Obaatanpa’ programme, said Accra, Tema, Cape Coast and Tamale had benefitted from the nationwide capacity building programme, with the Upper East Region being the fifth.
He said President Akufo-Addo, through the Ministry of Finance, initiated the three-year GHc100 billion programme, which started in 2020, to cushion the tourism sector against the COVID-19 effects.
It is being implemented by seven ministries including the Trade and Industry, and Food and Agriculture ministries.
“We at the Ministry of Tourism have some interventions we are going to handle, which is the sector skills revitalisation, involved in the nationwide trainings we are embarking on. Other interventions have to do with transformation of selected beaches,” he said.
Mr Henry Yeleduor, the Upper East Regional Director of GTA, said the programme was to sharpen the skills of the stakeholders to improve on service delivery.
“Once your businesses are prospering, government is sure that you will also do your part by paying your taxes,” he said, and urged participants to share the knowledge with their colleagues at their respective workplaces.
Leaderships of the various associations within the hospitality industry expressed gratitude to the GTA for the initiative and appealed for more of such trainings to improve on their services.
Madam Sheila Adongo, the Regional Chairperson of the Drinking Bars Association, said: “We are glad that the GTA has organised this training for us. It will really help us to improve on our customer relations.”
Mr Gilbert Kwaku Tisoma, the Programme Operations Manager of Tap Hotel in Bolgatanga, told the Ghana News Agency that the topics selected, especially the Digital Marketing, would help them catchup with technology in the world of business.
GNA.