GTA Steps Up Efforts To Register And License Tourist Sites

The Ashanti Regional Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) is stepping up efforts to register all tourist sites in the Region.

Mr Peter Achampong, the Regional Manager, said the move was to enhance effective monitoring and inspection by the Authority while injecting professionalism in the work of the industry players.

The Region boasts of some of the world’s acclaimed tourist attraction sites, which had over the years seen international and local tourists visit for educational, research and leisure purposes.

The Lake Bosomtwe, designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site, and the various museums and historical sites, depicting the history of the Asante monarchy and people, the cultural diversity and environmental biodiversity was the major source of tourism drive and revenue-generation in the Region.

Mr Achampong, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi, on the sidelines of the launch of the African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA)-Ghana, said the GTA was determined to developing tourism to an appreciable standard.

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, he said, was changing the way things were done in the industry.

Therefore, there is a need for the GTA to work assiduously in supporting industry players to adapt to the current transformation, with more emphasis on the safety of stakeholders.

ATTA-Ghana, a network of key players in the tourism industry with a pan-African vision, seeks to demonstrate to the outside world the continent’s rich tourism diversity.

The objective is to encourage and attract investment for sustainable development of tourism to create jobs and wealth for the people.

Mr Achampong said research had indicated that: “After a disaster, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people out of curiosity would like to travel.”

“We are entering a new, post-COVID-19 phase when tourism will re-establish itself globally, and we must be ready to resume marketing and promotional activities,” he told the GNA.

He emphasized the need for players in the industry to put a premium on professionalism in the discharge of their duties to ensure value for money as the public patronized their services.