TOURISM, one of the major income earners for the country, is said to be facing serious challenges, compelling Members of Parliament (MPs) to appeal to government to give priority attention to the sector.

It has been suggested that with adequate resources and focus, tourism could be the number one foreign exchange earner in Ghana, surpassing the traditional commodity like cocoa.

Among the challenges hindering the smooth operations of the tourism sector and indeed Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) are inadequate infrastructure, especially receptive and training facilities, websites insufficient funding for activities and marketing programmes.

Others are lack of District and Overseas Tourism Offices, old vehicles and scarce office equipment, inadequate Human Resource and high turnover of staff due to poor remuneration.

MP for Bosome-Freho, Hon. Nana Yaw Ofori-Kuragu, who brought these challenges to light in a statement on the floor of Parliament yesterday as a prelude to Panafest 2009, scheduled to take place from July 16 to August 1 2009, appealed to government to make adequate provision for the Ministry of Tourism in this year's supplementary budget.

Panafest, which is expected to bring tourism revenue to the country, is organized by the Panafest Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, biennially for Africans and people of African decent, as well as persons committed to the well-being of Africans on the continent and in Diaspora.

According to Hon. Ofori-Kuragu, Panafest is an essential tool for marketing Ghana abroad, especially to the United States, which is Ghana's number one international market segment, adding, “in this regard, GTB is responsible for marketing Ghana international”, very limited resources.

The MP for Bosome-Freho has urged Ghana Immigration Service to furnish the GTB with Tourism arrivals data, to enable the Board to maintain accurate records for planning and marketing purposes

He also called on government to create a Tourism Development Fund and National Tourism Development Policy to support the tourism sub-sector and to take steps to establish a Tourism Training University to improve service delivery in the industry.

MP for Takoradi, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, added his voice to the call for more resources to the Ministry of Tourism whose budgetary allocation has been drastically cut in the 2009 budget, adding “we need to develop and encourage domestic tourism in the country”.

On her part, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, MP for Bantama, noted that countries like Kenya and South Africa are accruing so much revenue from tourism because of the investment in the sector, urging Ghana to do same.

By Awudu Mahama
Source: Daily Guide - Daily Guide