The Deputy Director and Head of Central Administration at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, Miss. Fati Issaka Koray on Friday 22nd February 2019,urged Service providers to buy into the “See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana, Feel Ghana” campaign by enriching their menu with more local dishes.
Delivering an address on behalf of the Regional Minister at the 14th edition of the Upper West Regional Tourism Awards Night, Miss. Koray indicated that, this would certainly reduce the amount of money we spend on food import to service the tourism industry. According to her, we should also make conscious efforts to know our environment by visiting our tourist attraction sites and develop the habit of nature conservation. She said the Ghana Tourism Authority should encourage the formation of Tourist Clubs in the second cycle and tertiary institutions as well as in the churches, mosques and communities
She noted that, our rich culture is always displayed in colorful festivals, naming ceremonies, funerals and big occasions as well as places of worship. She said, increasingly, some of the youth have found their talents in the creative arts industry. “As artists, film or music producers, let us project our cherished values shaped by our heritage that can stand the test of time. I also challenge the artists to produce art work that depict our heritage sites that can be displayed in our homes, offices, hotels and restaurants” she added
Miss. Koray indicated that the Region abounds with an array of tourism resources which include: the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary, the Gwollu Slave Defense Wall and Bone-setter Clinic, the Wa Naa’s Palace, the Nakore Ancient Mosque, the Wuling’s Mushroom-shaped Rock and other Heritage sites that attracts both domestic and international tourists. She said in 2018 for instance, the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary recorded 1,024 arrivals out of which 505 were non-residents.
She indicated that Government would continue to provide the enabling environment by improving accessibility to the sites to attract the needed investment.
The Regional Tourism Award has become a flagship event in the tourism calendar of events which is celebrated every year to award distinguished tourism practitioners in the Region. It also set the tone for high standards in service delivery among practitioners in the tourism industry.
The Audit Manager of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr. Kenneth Adu-Boahene delivering a speech at the event on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority indicated that the Ghana Tourism Authority launched a marketing campaign ‘See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana, Feel Ghana’ aimed at promoting domestic tourism, the nation’s culture and heritage on 30th June, 2017 which seeks to re-orient Ghanaians on a new sense of national pride way of life.
Mr. Adu-Boahene noted that the key objectives of the campaign was to develop a new and sustainable sense of nationalism that brings commercially viable and sustainable life, the concept “I AM GHANAIAN”, pull together existing and stalled efforts to rebrand and market Ghana locally, to the African Diaspora and the rest of the world; promote local business opportunities across Ghana and promote Made-in-Ghana goods. He said the See, Eat, Wear and Feel Ghana campaign has increased the tourism traffic both domestically and internationally.
The number of awards was twenty in different categories. This included: Hotel of the year(2 star), Hotel of the year(1 star), Hotel of the year(Budget), Restaurant of the year(Grade 1), Restaurant of the year(Grade 2), Traditional Caterer of the year, Drinking Bar of the year, Night club/pub of the year, Site Guide of the year, Tour Guide of the year, Visitor Attraction of the year, Consistent payment of Tourism Levy(Accommodation), Consistent payment of Tourism Levy(catering), Tourism oriented Media of the year(T.V, Radio, Print), Tourism Program of the year, Tourism writer of the year, Honorary Awards for supporter of Tourism Programs of the year, Emerging Exemplary Award for sustainable Eco-Tourism Community of the year and Historical Site of Anti-Slavery Award of the year.
