Accra, July 21, GNA- Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, has urged the youth to explore all aspects of tourism as it is a lucrative sector for the country’s development.
He said there was an enormous potential for employment in the tourism industry and the youth should grasp the opportunity to better their lives.
Dr Awal said this at the Opening ceremony of the Youth in Tourism Festival (YOTOFEST) 2022 edition at on the theme :“The Youth, Tourism and Sanitation.”
The week-long event seeks to implement a comprehensive problem-solving skill that would lead to developing the youth in the country and ensuring active participation in achieving the sustainable development goals set to be achieved by 2030.
He noted that tourism offered multiple benefits to the individual as well as the society at large.
According to Dr Awal, tourism from the society’s perspective was a money spinner, which directly benefited the host country by generating foreign currency.
“When foreign tourists come to the country, they bring foreign currencies like the dollar and exchange it to get the Cedi so they can make purchases and spend, this act boosts the reserve of the foreign currency,” he said.
He added that tourism also provided direct and indirect employments to people because a tourist destination usually had several hotels, restaurants and tour operators.
Dr Awal urged operators of tourist attractions to maintain and preserve them for their intended purposes to be attained.
He said even though tourism touched on every element of lives, the theme for this year’s “YOTOFEST” should be taken note of, as it focused on sanitation, saying “we should keep in mind that the theme focuses on sanitation and since nobody wants to visit a place that is dirty and unclean, let’s keep our tourist sites clean.”
Professor Mawutor Avoke, the Vice-Chancellor of UEW, said to actively participate in the promotion of tourism, the youth who served as the foundation of the nation, should be forced to adapt to change, bring out their best and reinvent themselves.
“I cannot wait to see you, the young people, after here, trying to make impact in your own homes and the immediate environment, by shaping the attitudes of peers and your communities on sanitation, creating some mini tourist sites in your homes among others.
The Vice-Chancellor encouraged the youth to be mindful of the limitations of time when utilizing technology to promote local tourism and sanitation.
“Whether we like it or not, we are currently experiencing the greatest period of change in human history and the most technological advancement of any age, we must harness this technology, use it for the benefit of people and to assist in resolving issues that have previously been inflexible,” he said.
Neenyi Ghartey VII, the Chief of the Efutu Traditional Area, said the youth involvement in tourism was essential since it helped countries to reduce poverty.
He said, “if we actively participate in tourism, it could be what we sell, display or showcase to the guests who out of excitement, will spend their money and come again next time.”
He said tourism had the potential of preserving the culture heritage of the country, which could proudly be displayed to the tourists.
He said it was important to maintain environmental sanitation as it was the only way to inevitably contribute to the expansion of tourism.
Mr Zubairu Kassim, the Efutu Municipal Chief Executive, said it was time Ghanaians made their tourist sites attractive to get good patronage.
He said poor sanitation would affect the commercialization purposes of tourist sites.
GNA