By: Isaac Asare
Players in the tourism industry have been asked not to downplay the potential of the sector. A Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Alaine St. Ange, who stated this noted that proper development of the tourism sector, can rake in the needed revenue to sustain the country’s economic growth.
He further observed that domestic tourism provides huge investment opportunities for Ghana and Africa.
Mr. St. Ange, who is a former Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation for Seychelles, said this at the launch of the Africa Tourism Research Network in Accra.
It has the theme “Building a Robust, Responsible and Sustainable Travel and Tourism Industry, the Role of Credible Data Base”.
Ghana’s tourism industry is said to be under-utilised, as it lacks the needed systematic and scientific data to regulate activities of the sector. Experts have therefore recommended a research framework to assess and evaluate the tourism sector’s performance based on reliable data optimization for enhanced policy formulation and job creation.
This has informed the establishment of the Africa Tourism Research Network; a tourism and travel research Think tank.
Emmanuel Frimpong who is the brain behind the initiative spoke to GBC NEWS.
Mr. Frimpong, spoke about the economic benefit of the sector when properly utilized backed with scientific data usage.
Various speakers highlighted the importance of data gathering in the management of the tourism, travel and hospitality industry.
A former Tourism Minister in Seychelles, Alain St. Ange encouraged Ghanaians to prioritize and appreciate domestic tourism and work collaboratively to turn the existing challenges into opportunities.
The launch attracted various dignitaries including representatives from the sector ministry and trade associations.